A New Beginning
by HogwartsPrincess11587
Summary: Detective Erin Lindsay likes to be in control, now she isn't. The consequences of her actions have caught up with her and she must decide whether or not she can embrace a new beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, I have been really busy over the last year and haven't really had the time to write much so I'm trying to get back into it now. I want to thank ChicagoFirestarter, reading your fics really made me want to write again :D Other than that I don't own any of the characters or anything like that. I apologise in advance for any errors.**

It only took a few seconds for full on panic to set in. Once the realisation hit it was difficult to dismiss and now Detective Erin Lindsay, the intelligence unit's tough chick sat on her bathroom floor, too stunned to even cry. An endless stream of negative thoughts running through her head. It took a few minutes for her to settle her breathing and pull herself up. Taking slow, deep breaths she managed to compose herself, externally anyway. She checked herself in the mirror and emerged into her bedroom. With a plan in mind she changed from her work clothes, pulling on a baseball jacket and cap, hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone who recognised her. She jogged her way to the nearest pharmacy, knowing she looked suspicious as she scanned the isles. Refusing to make eye contact with the shop attendant she made her purchase and returned to her apartment at top speed. After all there was no reason to freak out over a possibility, just like in an investigation evidence was required before a conclusion could be reached.

Erin read the instructions thoroughly, twice, before following them. She pictured herself laughing about the result in five minutes time, then couldn't help but picture the other option. It was ridiculous, she had literally only slept with him once. Checking her phone she let out a sigh, half the time had elapsed. Then she realised that over the counter tests like these sometimes threw false positives or false negatives. She spent the next few minutes searching for doctors on her phone, selecting one based on appearance and proximity to her work place. She made the call and booked the only available after hours appointment that week, 7:30pm on Wednesday. Reassured by the fact that the test in front of her could be wrong she managed to remain calm despite the clear positive result. It took a few more minutes to resume her usual dinner routine and there was no chance sleep would come easily. To avoid lying in bed awake all night she put on a movie then promptly fell asleep halfway through. She was thankful for work to keep her busy for the next two days, her movie strategy guaranteed a good nights sleep. She was completely unprepared for Severide's text message on Tuesday afternoon but made viable excuses that involved work.

Severide was more persistent on Wednesday, she caved agreeing to meet him for dinner on Friday, that should be long enough to get test results and muster the courage to tell him, either way. Sitting in the waiting room she regretted everything, she might have been an independent individual her entire life but nothing could prepare her for this eventuality. Tapping her fingers nervously she sat, eyes transfixed on the clock as 7:30 came and went. Twenty minutes later the doctor she had picked online called her name and ushered her into a consultation room.

"Erin, it's nice to meet you" Doctor Grafton said settling in behind her desk.

"Yes, you too" Erin said, much too stiffly.

"How can I help you?" the doctor asked sensing her patients nervousness and countering with a business-like approach.

"I think I might be pregnant" Erin replied keeping a blank expression.

"What makes you think that?"

"My period has always been perfectly on time, a normal 28 day cycle since I turned 13. I had unprotected sex a month ago and haven't had a period since, it was due a fortnight ago. I've been busy with work so I barely noticed" Erin explained keeping it as matter-of-fact as possible.

"Alright, certainly sounds like its possible. I'll take some blood and get the test under way" Dr. Grafton said standing up, she took gloves from a rack on the wall before getting a tray from the cupboard behind her desk.

"Thanks" Erin responded.

"Your form says you're a detective, that must be interesting" The doctor said trying to be conversational.

"Yeah" Erin said ignoring the the scratching sensation of the needle piercing her skin.

"So what unit do you work with?" Dr. Grafton asked not taking her eyes from the needle in her hand.

"Intelligence" She replied, the doctor pulled a neutral face and withdrew the needle. Dr. Grafton labelled the three vials carefully while Erin watched silently.

"Are you in a relationship?"

"No" Erin said, it was partly true, she'd slept with him but they were going on their first official date on Friday, that hardly made it a relationship.

"What will you do if you are pregnant?" The Doctor probed trying to gauge Erin's attitude towards the topic.

"I don't know" Erin admitted.

"Will you keep it?" The Doctor persisted.

"Yes" Erin said, the possiblitiy of anything else had never even crossed her mind.

"Would you try to start a relationship with the father?"

"I'm already trying, he's a nice guy but we don't know the first thing about each other" Erin said though her first instinct was to lie.

"Yet you slept with him" The Doctor said, somehow the statement didn't sound judgmental.

"Yes I did" Erin said refusing to justify the situation to anyone.

"I'll have the results to you by tomorrow afternoon. Via your mobile phone?" The doctor asked changing topics after accepting defeat, Erin clearly wasn't the type that liked to talk about problems.

"Yes please" Erin acknowledged.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Dr Grafton asked with a kind smile.

"No, that's it, thanks" Erin said standing up.

"Try to take it easy and I wouldn't advise alcohol consumption" The doctor said leading Erin back out into the waiting room. Back in her car Erin let out a sigh of relief. That hadn't been as difficult as she had expected.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, Second Chapter already! I have absolutely been loving all the attention so thanks a heap and keep it up (I really will update faster). Still don't own CPD and I'm still a human that makes spelling mistakes occasionally :D For those of you who have been asking yes this will be Linseride. **

"You okay?" Halstead asked looking at his partner with genuine concern.

"Yeah I'm fine" Erin said wondering what her partner was picking up on.

"Lindsay, you haven't had a coffee today" Halstead said making it seem like a bigger deal than it was.

"I've been busy. Working. You know the reason we're here" She responded with a knowing look.

"Sure, found him yet?" Halstead asked looking over her shoulder at the computer screen.

"Still looking" Erin said. "How about you? Got anything?"

"Nope"

"Well get on with it" She instructed watching him return to his desk and get to work. They had been looking for a drug smuggler trying to get in on the illegal weapons trade. They knew his favourite hang outs but hadn't seen his vehicle anywhere near them for several days. They'd reached out to CI's and found that no one had seen him for at least a week. They needed to find him, or his body, before they could work out his intentions with the weapons. The sound of her phone instantly grabbed her attention, she pulled it out and answered it all while heading for the back stairs.

"Lindsay, we've got Garvey's body in a warehouse on Branson, meet us there?" Antonio asked before Erin even managed to say hello. Upon hearing his voice Erin started making her way back up the stairs, it was not the call she had been expecting.

"On our way" Erin replied hanging up as she pulled on her jacket. Halstead noticed her movements and got up from his desk.

"Found his body, we'll meet the others there" Erin said leading the way to the car.

"Yes! I am so done trawling CCTV for him" Halstead said with an emphatic smile.

"I know he wasn't a good person but I still don't think its okay to be quite so excited he's dead!" Erin replied.

"Oh, sure, so you aren't pleased to be getting out of the office?" Halstead asked knowing Lindsay hated staying in all day.

"I didn't say I wasn't pleased, I just said it wasn't right" Lindsay said focusing on the road rather than her partners confused expressions. They were stopped at a red light when Lindsay's phone started ringing, without hesitation she answered it "Hello?"

"Erin Lindsay, Dr Grafton here, I have the results of your test" The doctor said.

"Okay" Erin said waiting for the doctor to give more information.

"I need your date of birth to confirm your identity"

"080782" Erin said trying to make it sound like something other than her date of birth. Halstead gave her a confused look but she was busy enough focusing on driving and talking on the phone.

"The test is positive, you are pregnant. Congratulations" Dr Grafton confirmed.

"Right, thanks. I've got to go" Erin said taking a corner slightly more aggressively than necessary.

"I've booked you an appointment next Monday night, 7:30 if that's convenient" Dr Grafton added.

"That's fine, thanks" Erin said hanging up.

"Who was that?" Halstead asked, always inquisitive.

"Who do you think would kill Garvey? And why?" Erin asked, she always tried to deflect a question before lying outright.

"Anyone with half a brain" Halstead said wondering why is partner was acting so suspiciously. Erin didn't bother to reply instead focusing on parking the car neatly behind Antonio's.

"Come on" Erin said leading the way into the warehouse. Voight, Dawson and a few uniformed officers bagging evidence.

"Shot in the head, from behind. His hands are tied and he was gagged presumably" Antonio informed gesturing to the strip of tape that had been discarded on the floor.

"Murder weapon?" Halstead asked assessing the scene.

".22 Calibre pistol, it's been bagged for DNA testing" Antonio said.

"Anything else?" Lindsay asked looking around.

"Not really, he hasn't been dead very long. Anonymous tip off reported multiple shots fired within the warehouse" Antonio offered.

"So whoever called didn't care enough to give details of the vehicle" Lindsay suggested.

"Good point" Halstead said heading out to the street momentarily. "No CCTV in the area" he reported on his return.

"DNA on the gun is our best bet, that or tracing the anonymous caller" Halstead said.

"Multiple shots but one bullet wound" Lindsay reminded.

"That doesn't make sense either, he was brought here and killed with a single shot to the head, what reason would they have to shoot more than once." Halstead replied.

"Any report on the anonymous caller, did they sound panicked? They could have been going about their business then suddenly be shot at" Lindsay said, thinking aloud.

"Ready to go? Nothing urgent, so we'll wait for DNA" Voight said approaching his team. "Back to the district to work out our plan of attack, then an early night I think" He added leading the way out of the warehouse.

"When was the last time Voight gave us an early mark?" Halstead asked once they were in the car.

"Dunno, he probably has something planned tonight" Lindsay suggested.

"Really?" Halstead asked lowering one eyebrow in a questioning look.

"Why do you always expect me to know?" she asked.

"Maybe because he's practically your father!" Halstead said surprised that it wasn't more obvious.

"Do you know what your father has planned tonight?" Erin asked to make her point, Halstead remained quiet for the rest of the drive. By the time they made their way upstairs Voight had started placing photos and information on their whiteboard.

"Took your time" Voight commented as Lindsay seated herself behind her desk.

"Sorry" Lindsay muttered looking up to analyse the information on the board.

"So in the morning we should have the DNA and ballistics reports so we'll be one step closer to catching the killer. We might try to trace the anonymous caller or at least speak to the hotline operator. Anything else?" Voight asked giving everyone the opportunity to respond. After a brief pause Voight dismissed them.

Erin headed straight for her car ignoring Hallstead's call for drinks, but headed in the opposite direction to her home. Pulling up out the front of Firehouse 51 she started to regret her decision. She'd convinced herself that delaying the inevitable never helped but now she was questioning her theory. Did she really want to dump this kind of bombshell on him halfway through a shift? Was one more night going to make any difference? Despite the fact that she has successfully talked herself out of it she still found herself getting out of the car and heading into the fire station.

"Can I help you Detective?" Matthew Casey asked looking up from his routine truck maintenance check.

"Is Severide here?" Erin asked, unable to keep the concern from her voice.

"Yeah, just through here. Is everything okay?" Casey asked looking worried.

"Every thing's fine" Erin said making an effort to sound more in control.

"Severide, visitor" Casey said leading Erin into the main room of the fire house, the kitchen. Severide sat at the long table to their left, playing cards with his friends. Seeing Erin he quickly got up looking confused. Erin thanked Casey then let Severide lead her to his office where he shut the door and turned to look at her expectantly.

"Couldn't wait for dinner?" He asked when she didn't start speaking.

"Something like that" Erin said admiring his incredible blue eyes. Now came the hard part.

"I'm sorry I haven't made more of an effort to come see you, life's been hectic" Kelly rushed to explain.

"It's fine, I've been busy too" Erin said knowing that she was stalling uselessly and should just get to the point. "Look Kelly, I..." suddenly she couldn't speak, fear of his reaction getting to her.

"Whatever it is just tell me" He said reaching out to grasp her hands.

"I'm pregnant" Erin said, aloud for the first time, her voice smaller than it had ever been. She couldn't look at him and instead stared intently at his shoes trying not to cry. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Are you sure?" He asked his voice a soft whisper.

"Yeah" She said meeting his eyes, she couldn't decipher how he was taking the news.

"I know you're going to hate me for asking, I've been messed around before...It's definitely mine?"

"Definitely" Erin replied with a nod. He could see the fear in her eyes and it worried him.

"Don't worry we can handle this, we'll work everything out" He assured pulling her closer than ever. He felt the fabric of his shirt dampen as she shook with silent sobs. "Erin, I promised you I'd stay that night, I'm promising to stay now too. Whatever happens, we'll do it together."

"Sorry, I'm being silly" She said pulling away to wipe her eyes. She took a deep breath and changed her facial expression back to calm.

"Don't be sorry" He said unable to find the words to express the way he was feeling, all he could do was pull her back to his chest and hold her tightly. After a few minutes they had both calmed down considerably. "You should head home and get some sleep. We'll talk properly tomorrow afternoon" Kelly suggested softly.

"Alright. You can't tell anyone, even Shay" Erin said trying to sound firm.

"I won't" He guaranteed.

"I must look terrible" She said wiping her cheeks in an attempt to hide the fact she'd been crying.

"You are beautiful" Kelly said thinking it was never too soon to get in a compliment.

"Sure" Erin replied sounding sceptical.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine" He reassured kissing her head one last time before leading her out. He kept his arm around her shoulders guiding her through the fire station and protecting her from the prying eyes of his colleagues.

"Thank you" She said as they arrived at her car.

"See you tomorrow"

Arriving home she fixed herself a quick meal then took a shower. Feeling strangely calm she didn't even resort to putting on a movie, instead snuggling down in her bed. Relief washed over her and she wondered why she had been so worried in the first place. Carried away with fantasies of the future it didn't take long for her to drift to sleep.

**Erin's PREGNANT! I'm not sure how true to her character in the show this is but I wanted to explore and develop their relationship with the added pressure of the pregnancy. I've been a fan of Linseride since Erin first appeared on Chicago Fire so I couldn't help myself…This fic will not follow the timeline and events of the current season, but I will be using some storyline from the show. Also, just to throw in another disclaimer, I am from Australia and have absolutely no clue about Chicago so I'm making up all street names etc. because I'd rather be writing than using Google Maps! Hope you don't mind…Leave me a review to let me know ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you guys are enjoying it so far, I am certainly enjoying reading all the lovely reviews. I won't be updating tomorrow because I'll be really busy so I'm putting this up now to make up for it (and it's a bit longer than the last two as well). **

A knock on her front door woke Erin with a start. The sun was up but her alarm hadn't gone off. She pulled on her dressing gown and rushed to answer the door. Kelly Severide stood there, brown paper bag in hand.

"Breakfast" He announced holding out the bag. Taking a moment to look at her he realised his mistake, "did I wake you?" Kelly asked sounding instantly apologetic.

"Yeah, it's fine, my alarm should have gone off by now" Erin paused to take in the scene "thank you, you really didn't have to".

"I felt like it. Wish I could stay, but the guys are waiting" He said gesturing to the stairs.

"Thank you" She said accepting the bag and a kiss on the cheek before he ran off. With a contented sigh she shut the door, taking her present to the kitchen. The fruit salad and take-away pancakes brought a smile to her face. Deciding to prioritise herself she took the time to eat and watch the morning news before showering and leaving for work. She discovered her phone, with no charge, on the way to the shower. She plugged it in, turned it on and dismissed her morning alarm.

"Late?" Halstead asked as she marched to her desk and sat down.

"I'm always early, figured I'd break the routine, keep things interesting" She replied, messing with him.

"Voight isn't even here yet, I'm just used to you being hard at work when I show up" Halstead justified. Erin had turned her attention to her emails and soon had the DNA profile and ballistics report printed and in hand. She had read through them both by the time Voight arrived, he strode into his office without a word.

"Coffee?" Halstead asked jumping up from his desk.

"No, I've already had some" She replied, he narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. In truth she had given up coffee the second she suspected she might be pregnant. It might not be planned but that did not mean she was going to do anything to sabotage the health of her unborn child.

"Morning" Ruzek greeted arriving late as usual. She ignored the younger man and kept reading the police file of Garvey's murderer.

"Homicide want the case, they'll get Miller, the guy who's DNA is on the gun, but they want us to work out why he felt the need empty the clip, they reckon there's a witness. Lazy bastards want us doing half their job" Voight announced once the whole team had arrived and had the opportunity to read the laboratory findings.

"I'll find the hotline operator that talked to the caller" Lindsay volunteered happy to spend the morning behind her desk, on the phone.

"Okay, just beat the bushes on this, somebody knows what went down" Voight said with his usual enthusiasm before returning to his office. Lindsay set about tracking down the call number so she could find the operator and a recording. Time was precious as call recordings were deleted after 24 hours, unless there was an usually large number of calls, then it could be sooner, nothing was certain. It didn't take her long to have the operator on the phone, from there she got the recording which she called Voight out to listen to.

"He's just a kid, sounds terrified" Antonio said in response to the audio.

"Just a kid who hangs around empty old warehouses for no reason" Voight reminded.

"Where's the nearest school? Play that for the Principle and see if they recognise the voice" Olinski suggested. Since it was his idea Voight sent Olinski and Ruzek to test the theory. In the meantime Lindsay and Halstead worked to try and trace the mobile phone signal to their caller. An hour later and they had narrowed it down to a one mile radius. They still hadn't heard anything from Olinski. Lunch came and went by the time Voight announced Olinski had located the kid, he hadn't stopped at the first school instead radiating his search out until he found the caller, at the only school in Lindsay and Halsteads search area.

"Lindsay, I want you in the interview room" Voight announced once Olinski confirmed he was on the way in with the kid.

"Sure" She replied knowing there was nothing she could do until they arrived. Twenty minutes later she sat across the table from a fifteen year old boy who still hadn't explained why he had been at the warehouse.

"Were you there for drugs?" Lindsay asked trying to get anything useful from the terrified teen.

"No, I ain't into that sorta stuff" He defended though she had no reason to believe he was telling the truth.

"Well then just tell us why you were there and what you saw" Lindsay said getting frustrated by their lack of progress.

"Saw, I never said I saw nothing, just heard the gunshots" He said it was now clear he was lying.

"The truth please"

"I might'a seen somethin'" He admitted looking tense.

"What did you see?" Olinski asked finally breaking his silence.

"Two guys. One of them was tied up. The other one shot him, in the head. He dropped down dead."

"So what did you do when you saw the man get shot?" Lindsay asked trying to sound caring.

"I knew I shouldn't be there so I tried to get out but the back door was jammed and the guy with the gun saw me. He started yelling, everything would be alright if I kept my mouth shut. I kicked open the door, he started shooting at me. I ran for it, didn't stop for six blocks, then I called the hotline. The number was on a bus shelter" He explained, rapid fire.

"You did the right thing. But what were you doing there in first place?" Lindsay probed.

"You can't tell nobody or laugh but" he paused but Lindsay nodded encouragingly and he continued "...I go there to dance. Me and some of my friends, we meet up there after school sometimes. Dance, film each other for YouTube. I know it's wrong to break in but I ain't never seen nobody there before, thought it was abandoned. I just wanted to practice alone for a little bit. Next minute some maniac is shootin' at me and I'm running for my life" He answered.

"Would you recognise the shooter if we showed you some photos?" Was the next question Lindsay had to ask.

"Probably, I'll try"

"Would you be willing to make a formal statement or speak in court?" She pressed.

"Yeah, as long as it ain't gonna come back on me. I don't want my family getting hurt 'coz of this" The teen responded brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"We'll make sure that won't happen" Olinski said. They finished the interview and returned with a folder of mug shots, Miller's photograph was strategically placed seventeen photos in, just less than halfway. Long enough to know if the kid was serious but quick enough that he wouldn't lie out of desperation. They watched as he flicked through the images taking time to study each of them carefully. As they expected he easily identified Miller. Olinski guided him through the written statement while Lindsay returned to her desk.

"Good work today Lindsay" Voight announced at the end of their shift. They had spent the afternoon getting back to the original target of their investigation, the illegal weapons traders who'd set up in Chicago. They'd made little progress but were in it for the long haul, tackling small related cases along the way.

"Celebratory drinks?" Halstead suggested as they headed down the front stairs together.

"Nope, I've got plans" Lindsay said with an easy smile.

"Anything fun?" He asked, ever curious.

"Nice hot bath and a bottle of wine" Lindsay lied knowing it would distract him. She said her goodbyes and headed home. Severide sent her a message as she drove _'Your place or mine?' _it asked. She waited until she was safely parked before sending her response, no way in hell she wanted Shay listening in on their conversation. Making her way up to her apartment she was the most relaxed she'd been all week. With Severide on his way she changed into a singlet and comfy pair of sweat pants before inspecting her cupboard. Disappointed by the lack of food she changed into jeans, now knowing that they would have to go out for dinner. Erin had just sat down with a glass of juice in hand when he knocked. She got up and let him in.

"Hey" He greeted, forming his usual carefree smile.

"Hey" She responded, slightly more seriously. "Beer, juice, water?" She asked leading him into the kitchen.

"No thanks, I'm fine" Kelly answered watching her intently.

"So, we need to talk"

"We sure do" He said following her to the couch, they sat a comfortable distance apart, it was friendly, nothing more.

"First up, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was a complete mess. I'm not usually like that" She justified knowing that he had seen the usual Erin when their paths had crossed at work.

"Like I said yesterday, no need to apologise. It's a bit of a shock but we'll figure this out" He said trying to sound calm and supportive.

"I'm choosing to keep this baby and I will do everything humanly possible to be the best parent I can" she said emphasising the fact that it was a choice. "You have the choice to be involved in this, or not. Honestly, either way is fine by me. I do not want you to feel like you have to whisk me away and marry me, that's never going to happen. If you want in we do this properly. I don't know all that much about you, we'd need to figure out if we can be friends first." She finished having said everything she needed to.

"Erin, I am not going anywhere and I am not missing out on my kid's life. You're right you don't know much about me but walking out is what my dad would do, I am not my dad" Kelly said setting things straight to start.

"Okay" Erin acknowledged keen that she was already learning more about him.

"At the same time I gotta tell you that from the moment we first met I've had trouble taking my eyes off you. I have every intention of being more than just friends but I know that we'd both need to put some time and effort in first" He explained, loving the way she blushed ever so slightly.

"Anything else or should we go get dinner?" She asked before realising it had barely been ten minutes since he'd arrived.

"Food sounds good, where do you want to go?"

"Whatever you fancy" She suggested grabbing her things before leading the way to the door. There was momentary debate on whose car to take but they quickly came to a decision and she got into his car without complaint.

"You gotta give me something or we'll end up a supermarket" He joked driving carefully.

"That doesn't actually sound like a bad idea" Erin said thinking of all the options a supermarket held.

"Really?" He asked putting on his indicator to turn into the shopping complex car park.

"Yeah" She replied unable to wipe the grin from her face. They spent the next hour trawling the isles, making disgusting food suggestions and trying to sneak odd things into the trolley. They laughed much too loudly and received some less than pleased looks but had a lot of fun. They discussed food, childhood cooking disasters through to favourite meals of all time. When Erin explained that the best meal she had ever eaten was barbecued chicken, assorted salad and nearly stale bread rolls he was confused, she told him that Voight had cooked the meal and promised to give more information when they got home. In the end he refused to let her pay convincing the poor checkout kid to side with him on the matter. They carried their bags of shopping to his car then realised they'd bought a whole lot of ingredients but hadn't actually planned a meal. After a short discussion and some minor rifling through bags they decided they could figure something out when they got back to her place. He tried to carry all the shopping but she argued and he gave in, handing her the lightest bag. Their diner comprised of steak, sausages, cous cous, a variety of salad and vegetables and a good deal of Caesar salad dressing. They talked as they ate getting more and more comfortable with each other. At the end of the meal Erin cleaned up without complaint and sorted the rest of the shopping into her cupboards. After that they headed for the couch.

"You said you'd tell me more about the best meal you've ever eaten" He requested pulling her closer.

"I hadn't eaten in days, Voight is no chef but it was amazingly good" She said snuggling into him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Life as kid for me wasn't exactly easy. My dad was never around and my mum was very fond of drugs and alcohol. I learned to fend for myself early on. Now and then that involved stealing. Then, understandably, I fell in with the wrong crowd. Drugs, alcohol, everything." She took her time, explaining things properly. "My mum would try to be normal if I scored for her, she'd cook breakfast or vacuum the house, even buy me new clothes. It started out that I could get stuff for her easily but once I was fully invested it got harder" Erin knew she could go into more detail but at the same time knew that their relationship was just beginning, she didn't want to tell him too much. "Then Voight busted me, possession, intent to sell, it didn't look good but we made a deal. I helped him bring down the supplier and he helped me sort out my life. Now I'm a cop." She finished turning her head to read his face, he looked interested, concerned but not disgustingly sympathetic, something she couldn't stand.

"Sounds like things turned out for the best, no wonder you see Voight differently" Kelly replied rubbing his hand up her arm.

"He isn't as bad as people think. Oh, and I conveniently left out that I was drugged out of my mind at the time. I've been clean since though" She assured letting him know that it was a serious matter. He tried to fight it but couldn't keep back the yawn he had been suppressing.

"Good to know my wayward teen years don't phase you" She commented looking up at him with an amused expression.

"Sorry, it was a big shift" He explained immediately. She checked the clock and was alarmed by how late it had gotten.

"You staying tonight?" She asked hoping he would agree.

"Sure, if that's alright"

"Of course" Erin agreed. She led him to the bathroom, locating a new toothbrush for him to use. While he was in the bathroom she changed into her pyjamas, a massive T-shirt and chequered flannelette pants, they clashed horribly but it was comfy. He complimented then laughed at her sleeping attire. She headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and returned to find that he had made himself at home on her side of the bed. Usually she would have fought to get her pillow but she quickly found that his chest was the greatest pillow of all. They tried to keep chatting but the silences became longer and soon they were both asleep.

**So it turns out I have a tendency to end chapters with the characters going to sleep, I hope you don't mind it's just a natural break in the story. I'm going to work really hard and try to post everyday (except tomorrow) but you'll have to keep reviewing to keep me motivated ;) Thanks for reading, it really does mean a lot to me! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! I am so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter but my sister was hospitalised yesterday so we had to make a sudden trip to the city. She will be okay in a few days and it shouldn't have any further impact on updating. I have been writing like crazy and I can't wait for your reactions to some of the things I have planned! **

Erin awoke to find herself in possession of her favourite pillow, with a slight turn of her head she could see Kelly, laying behind her, without a pillow. She couldn't help but smile, his hand protectively placed on her stomach. Now that she was awake she struggled to keep still, knowing that she would wake him if she moved too much. Time passed strangely, Erin dozed and awoke, each time hoping that her eyes would meet bright blue ones. At last she woke properly, immediately noticing that Kelly's hand was missing. She turned, finding the bed empty. As she sat up she recognised a familiar scent on the air, he was cooking. Making her way to the kitchen she was surprised to see him cooking with such ease, she hadn't picked him as that kind of guy.

"Breakfast two mornings in a row?" She asked her voice croakier than usual.

"You deserve it" He replied with a smile.

"Really?" She asked.

"Absolutely, good food means a healthy baby" He added a more serious expression crossing his face.

"True" She said moving to inspect his work, pregnancy certainly had its perks.

"Go sit down, it'll be ready in a sec" Kelly instructed, trying to be persuasive.

"Nothing I can do to help?" She asked, determined not to let him do all the work.

"No, go sit" He answered.

"Rule number one, don't tell me what to do" Erin said, matter of factly opening the fridge and retrieving a carton of juice. She selected two glasses from the cupboard and poured the juice.

"Sorry" He apologised.

"Don't be" She said suddenly feeling bad for commenting. Erin took the glasses and placed them on the table.

"Ready to eat?" He asked serving the French toast, he carried the plates to the table following her lead.

"Yeah, smells amazing" She replied taking a seat. They ate in silence, an occasional glance at each other but otherwise completely focused on their own thoughts.

"Got any plans for today?" Kelly asked breaking the silence as he finished his last mouthful.

"No, you?" She asked wondering why he seemed so pleased.

"I'd love to spend more time with you, if you aren't sick of me?" He joked taking both plates and making his way to the kitchen, she followed him, helping with the dishwasher.

"It's going to take a while for that to happen" She said turning to face him, pleasantly surprised by how close they were.

"Good" Kelly replied before leaning in for a cheeky kiss, pressing his lips to hers gently before pulling back to watch her reaction. Pleased when a smile spread across her face he took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist. She stood on tip toes and kissed him back before pulling away headed for a shower. He laughed indignantly before settling on the couch to wait. Erin returned, dressed, less than ten minutes later much to his surprise. He had gotten used to Shay taking at least an hour to get ready. Thinking of his friend made him feel guilty, she might not have mentioned it recently but she still desperately wanted a baby. "Shay is going to want to be involved with the baby too" He said looking up at Erin thoughtfully.

"Really? She doesn't strike me as the type of person who likes babies" She replied honestly.

"You'd be surprised. She's a big part of my life, you'll have to get to know her too" He explained hoping Erin wouldn't mind.

"That's fine. But we still aren't telling anyone about the baby for a bit" She said sitting next to him on the couch.

"How long?" He asked perplexed by the strange request.

"As long as possible. My work is everything to me and as soon as Hank finds out I'll be stuck behind a desk. We can tell people as soon as I don't think it's safe to keep working, or it becomes obvious" She said trying to judge what he was feeling.

"Work is important to me as well but the baby has to come first. I won't tell anyone until you're okay with it but you've got to be careful" He said amazed at how attached he was to the baby he'd only known about for a day.

"I'm always careful" She said, pleased at the way things had been working out between them so far.

"Good, the more I look at you the more attached I get" He said with a wink.

"Right" Erin replied again sounding sceptical. "So what days do you work this week?" She asked still unfamiliar with his work schedule.

"Monday, Thursday and Saturday, I've already signed up to work an extra shift on Sunday. I'll talk to the chief and try to get out of it" He responded.

"I'm sure we'll see each other during the week" She said with a small smile, it was nice that he already cared enough to realise that spending time together was important.

"What about you?" He countered.

"Works pretty random at the moment, bad guys don't follow a routine. I usually get to work at seven, we finish when we arrest our suspect or when Hank decides so it's pretty variable. We've been working on tracking down one particular guy and he's supposed to be in town this week so it could be a few late nights. Hopefully not Monday night though, I have a doctor's appointment" She said.

"Oh, should I be coming?" He asked looking concerned.

"No. It's just a regular appointment, nothing very interesting."

"Okay" He replied slightly disappointed, the excitement had gotten to him and he'd ignored the fact it would be months before he got to meet the baby.

"There will be plenty of doctors' appointments" She said noticing the way his face fell. "You'll be working Monday anyway"

"I know, I just want to be involved" He reassured.

"I'll tell you every detail" She guaranteed. Before he could respond a phone began to ring in the bedroom.

"I can ignore that" He said looking at her for permission.

"Go" She said, he noticed the frustration in her tone but went anyway. He returned a few minutes later with a conflicted look on his face.

"Shay wants me for a movie marathon" He said, again, subtly asking for permission.

"So go. I don't want to get between you and your friends. Don't ask me if you can spend time with friends, you're an adult and we're equals in this" Erin said keeping her tone even despite feeling annoyed.

"Alright" He said looking adequately remorseful. "Erin, would you like to come watch some movies with Shay and I?" Kelly challenged, showing initiative.

"What type of movies?" She asked, smiling again.

"Fast and the Furious marathon?" He asked cautiously.

"Sure" Erin agreed eager to spend some time watching Kelly and Shay together. She wasn't at all jealous of their friendship but she wanted to see what he was like at home.

"Really?"

"Fast cars, guns, explosions...what makes you think that I would say no to that?" She asked with a laugh.

"Awesome, let's go" He said jumping up from his seat on the arm of the couch. Erin followed him grabbing a hoodie from her bedroom before following Kelly to his car. Before long he was leading Erin into the apartment he shared with Shay. His blonde roommate wore grey sweatpants with a plain white singlet, fluoro orange bra highly visible beneath.

"Hi" Shay said throwing Kelly a look Erin couldn't quite define.

"I hope you don't mind me crashing" Erin said hoping she would give Shay the impression that she hadn't necessarily been invited.

"It's cool, the more the merrier" She replied giving Kelly a look that clearly indicated this was not the case. Erin followed closely behind Kelly as he led the way through to the lounge. Shay selected the first movie from the DVD rack next to their television. Erin scanned through the movie titles and smiled at how similar their taste was. The movie started and the first few minutes passed in awkward silence. Kelly sat in the middle, Shay on his left and Erin to his right. Eventually the awkwardness passed as they began to discuss their favourite parts of the movie, the plausibility of the storyline and assorted car or gun related trivia. As the credits of the first film began to roll Erin sat bolt upright a sudden realisation hitting her.

"We aren't watching Tokyo Drift are we?" She asked cautiously.

"Hell no!" Shay answered putting Erin's concern to rest.

"Good to know" Erin said pleased by Shay's adamant response.

"We like to pretend it doesn't exist. We only own it because we were given the box set" Shay explained jumping up to put on the next movie. Erin realised the problem when she yawned twenty minutes into 2 Fast, 2 Furious. She had used this movie to help get to sleep earlier in the week and now it was having the same effect. Before she knew it she was snuggled up against Kelly fighting to keep her eyes open.

"You alright?" He whispered shocked by her sudden sleepiness.

"Yeah" She replied stifling another yawn. She couldn't fight it forever and soon enough she was fast asleep.

"Erin, I got to get up" He whispered, trying to wake her gently a movie and a half later.

"Hmm?" Erin asked keeping her eyes tightly shut.

"I'll take her" Shay said manoeuvring carefully to take Kelly's place. Erin drifted back to sleep. It was when Kelly returned from the bathroom and tried to move back in that she woke up properly. She sat up rubbing her eyes before looking at them both, confused.

"You fell asleep, we kept watching" He said pointing to the start menu of the fourth movie in the series.

"Oh, okay. Sorry" She said beginning to adjust to the bright light in the room.

"It's fine, you must have been tired" He whispered pulling her back to snuggle against his chest.

"Ready?" Shay asked holding the remote control ready to press play. Before answering Kelly looked down at Erin wondering what the point of keeping watching when she'd slept through the first few.

"Yeah" Erin said mustering all the energy she could. Despite her best efforts and the fast paced action of the movie it didn't take long for her to fall asleep again. Next thing she knew she was being carried. She would normally have protested but she was confident that he could manage it, his strong arms making her feel secure. He placed her gently on his bed and pulled a blanket over her. While aware of everything that was going on she maintained her relaxed expression, eyes closed. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

Erin woke with a start, not only was she in a foreign environment but nausea had hit full force and she was fighting not to lose her breakfast then and there. She threw herself off the bed and out the bedroom door, thankfully the bathroom was the next room along. Slamming the door behind her she located the toilet and promptly lost her stomach contents with a violence she hadn't thought possible. Once her stomach was completely empty she flushed before flopping down on the tiled floor, the cold ceramic surface soothing her burning skin. Consciously making the effort to slow her breathing she tried to calm herself, footsteps approaching didn't help.

"Erin, you okay?" Kelly asked from the other side of the bathroom door, clearly alarmed.

"Yeah" She mumbled sitting up.

"Can I come in?" He asked barely able to stop himself breaking down the door.

"Yeah" She answered leaning up against the bath.

"You alright?" He asked crouching in front of her. Running his fingers across her forehead to brush away her hair, he was shocked by her temperature.

"Yeah" She said for the third time, lacking the energy to be more articulate.

"You've got a temperature" Kelly said pulling her hoodie up over her head with ease.

"I'm fine" Erin said pushing him back as she tried to stand. She made it to the edge of the bath, pausing a moment to rest.

"No you aren't" He replied his hand placed protectively on her upper arm.

"Yes I am" She argued standing, unwilling to let him see any sign of weakness. Taking a few steps she leaned on the basin before turning on the tap and splashing cold water on her face. Kelly opened the mirror cabinet handing her a bottle of mouthwash. Giving him a thankful nod she proceeded to use the mouthwash before replacing the bottle in the cabinet.

"Better?" He asked watching intently from the doorway.

"I'm totally fine" She said, it was true too, she really was feeling much better.

"Do you want me to take you home?" He asked as they paused at the door to his bedroom.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea" Erin replied despite the fact she was back to normal.

"Sure" Kelly said leading her down the stairs, continually looking back to make sure she was alright.

"Everything okay?" Shay asked looking at the pale detective curiously.

"Yeah" Erin said before Kelly could say anything to contrary.

"We'll I'm about to start dinner if you want to hang around" Shay said probing the situation purely interested in the looks being exchanged by the pair.

"What are you making?" Erin asked confused as to why she was suddenly so hungry. She hadn't had lunch but usually vomiting would put her off eating for a while.

"Lasagne, with wholemeal pasta I made yesterday" Shay said sounding much too excited about the healthy element of her meal.

"Sounds great" Erin said throwing Kelly a peculiar look, somewhere between hope you don't mind and sorry. "Anything I can do to help?" She asked much to Kelly's dismay, he was worried by her sudden bounce back.

"Not really, why don't you two go buy desert?" Shay suggested knowing they could use the time to talk.

"Sounds good" Kelly replied rapidly, desperate to talk to Erin. He grabbed his keys and Erin's hand pulling her from the room before she had time to comprehend what was happening.

"What?" Erin said following him to his car taking two steps for each of his.

"One minute I'm taking you home because you aren't feeling well then all of a sudden you're staying for dinner" He said sounding confused.

"I'm feeling much better, and hungry. I didn't have any lunch and Shay is important to you so I'm making an effort to get to know her. I thought that was what you wanted!" Erin said.

"I do but I really want you to put yourself first, not just yourself but the baby as well. You haven't been doing that or you wouldn't have been tired enough to sleep all day!" He said sounding angry and caring at the same time.

"I'm sorry that I was tired, not knowing if you're pregnant and waiting days to find out made it a little hard for me to get to sleep this week. Knowing doesn't make it any less scary which also makes me tired! I will put this baby first but my judgement has to be enough for you or this is never going to work" She said, instantly regretting the ultimatum she had offered.

"Erin, I'm sorry. I guess I'm scared too" He admitted surprising Erin. "We're talking about a whole new person. I just need to trust you"

"Pretty much" She said lightly, diffusing the tension but also avoiding getting into the deep and meaningful aspect of their conversation. Without further comment he started the car pulling out into the traffic headed for the nearest store. "What does she mean when she requests desert?" Erin asked as they pulled into a car space.

"Your guess is as good as mine" He laughed. They walked the aisles looking for desert food eventually pausing in front of the freezers. "That one or that one?" He asked pointing to two packaged deserts.

"That one" She said picking the one with the most chocolate.

"You sure?" He asked, personally favouring the other option.

"Certain, but we can get the other one if you let me get these" Erin said retrieving a large packet of frozen raspberries from the freezer.

"Sounds like a deal" Kelly agreed selecting his choice from the freezer. "Wait a sec, is that a craving?" He asked sounding schoolboy excited.

"I don't think so...sorry I just like raspberries" She said watching him grin none-the-less. They made their way to the checkouts hand in hand. Before long they were back in his apartment watching Shay cook.

"Wine?" Shay offered holding up a bottle she had already opened.

"I have work tomorrow" Erin responded watching Kelly pull faces at the suggestion, he was a beer man through and through. To prove this point he took a beer from the fridge.

"One glass won't hurt" Shay said trying to tempt her.

"I'm fine, thanks though" She insisted hoping it would be enough.

"Juice then, water?" The blonde asked trying to be hospitable.

"Juice please" Erin replied knowing that refusing would just make things awkward. Shay poured the drink and passed it to Erin before turning to check the progress of the Lasagne. "Have you made your own pasta before?" She asked unsure how high her expectations for the meal should be.

"A few times" Kelly laughed, clearly it didn't typically go very smoothly.

"Shut up, practice makes perfect, and I talked to my Italian friend and she gave me plenty of tips" Shay countered playfully.

"Well I can't wait to try it" Erin said. The statement was truer than it seemed, her stomach rumbling at the thought.

"Good thing you won't have too" Shay answered turning off the oven. She served the lasagne and they sat at the table to enjoy it. Keeping conversation light they discussed their first cars and who had taught them to drive. Shay and Kelly got a good laugh out of Erin's story about Voight's cautious driving techniques.

"That was amazing" Erin said having devoured her dinner in half the time it took Shay to eat hers.

"It was actually" Kelly agreed making sure Shay knew how much he appreciated her cooking.

"Ready for desert?" Shay asked taking their dishes as she got up.

"I'll get it" He responded jumping up to help. Erin felt awkward but remained seated anyway. "Do you want raspberries on top or separate?" He called to Erin.

"On top" Erin replied feeling particularly lazy.

"Ta-da!" Kelly said placing the bowl in front of Erin.

"Thank you" Erin said making sure he knew how much she appreciated his special efforts.

"This is my favourite, good choice guys" Shay said digging into her own Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake. Erin gave Kelly a questioning look, surely he'd know this was Shay's favourite, but continued to eat regardless.

"Raspberries were a good idea" Kelly added too focused on eating to make conversation. Once finished they sat in a peaceful silence.

"Thanks for today" Erin said focusing more on Shay than Kelly. "Sorry for falling asleep" for some reason this comment made Shay smile.

"Any time" the blonde responded, if Kelly was happy chances were she'd be happy as well.

"Home?" Kelly asked astonished to see Erin yawning.

"Yeah" She responded getting up to follow him.

"It was nice seeing you" Shay called disappearing up the stairs.

"You too" Erin replied letting Kelly lead the way again. She couldn't help but laugh when he stopped to open the car door for her. "You can stop now, I don't think she's watching" Erin said sliding into the car still unable to stop laughing.

"Considered that I might be doing this for you, not her?" He asked. Erin didn't know how to reply so she kept silent for the rest of the short journey home.

"Thank you for today" She said as they arrived at her apartment door.

"Playing pillow wasn't so bad" He replied pleased that she had had a good time.

"You have my number" Erin added not wanting to let him in. If he came in she'd want him to stay and then she would want to stay with him instead of going to work. Leaving him at the door was the best option.

"Let me know how things go at the doctor" He reminded before pulling her into a hug. With a quick kiss on the top of her head he turned and walked away leaving Erin standing at her door full of regret. She should have let him in, at the same time it took her no time to get to sleep, she liked taking up the whole bed.

**Any good? Am I taking things too fast or too slow? All opinions regarding the Fast and the Furious movies are mine. I miss Linseride in the show so much which is great motivation to keep writing. Hope you liked this and I'll be updating again tomorrow :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for your continued support. To all the people who have favourited/followed or reviewed this story I am very thankful and I really hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing :D **

Erin woke feeling refreshed, ready for a day of hard work. Noticing that she was making record time as she drove to work she decided to stop off at her favourite coffee shop. The smell of coffee hit filling her with desperation, could she really last another eight months without coffee? Erin joined the line hoping that by the time she got to the front she would have inhaled enough to keep her going.

"Can I have a Chai Latte please?" She asked with such disgust that the Barista looked at her strangely.

"One Chai Latte coming up" He replied according to the customer service script of the establishment. Walking into the district with a hot beverage was so standard that she hoped no one would notice the change in contents, thinking along those lines she realised just how paranoid she was being. Eventually she would have to tell them that she was pregnant, until then nobody was going to work it out if she focused on work and acted normal.

"Morning" She announced taking her place at her desk.

"Morning" Antonio responded, the only person in the room who seemed to be paying attention. It took another half hour for everyone to arrive. "Alright team, we're back on the trail of this guy, Andre Sanchez, commonly known as Tiburon, Shark. He's been bringing guns into the city for the last six months, selling them on to the highest bidder, gangs mostly. Now my CI says he mentioned setting up in Chicago on a more permanent basis. All we need to do is set up a meeting with him and catch him in the act of selling something illegal. Sounds easier than it'll be no doubt but we'll keep at it until we can make a case against him stick" Antonio explained putting photographs on the whiteboard as he did so.

"Cool, so are we sending someone in undercover?" Ruzek asked overeagerly.

"We are. By all reports he's a sucker for pretty girls so Lindsay will be his main contact" Voight declared.

"What a compliment" Erin snorted amused by the way the guys suddenly seemed to notice her.

"You'll have today to figure out your identity, we need to be ready as soon as we get word he's in town." Voight instructed before shouting orders to the rest of the team, Olinski and Ruzek were responsible for finding and monitoring known associates, Halstead was to find a suitable meeting place while Antonio got in contact with his CI to catch up on the latest information. Adequately keen to pose as a prospective buyer Erin felt like she had successfully gotten her head back in the game. Working on an alias and back story, including lining up a few CI's as verification of past criminal endeavours took most of Erin's day and left her feeling well prepared for the meet. Now all they needed was a definite time and place, something they couldn't organise until they received a call from their target.

"See you tomorrow" Erin said as she got up to leave, it was seven and she needed to get to her doctor's appointment.

"See you" Halstead replied for once content to stay later than his partner, he needed to canvas all the possible meeting locations and scope the area for back up and sniper cover positions. Being extra thorough to ensure his partner would be safe in the event the meeting was called outside.

The short drive gave her time to think. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen a doctor twice in a week, she wasn't the check-up type. This time Dr Grafton was ready as soon as she arrived.

"Erin, nice to see you. Come on in" The doctor greeted leading Erin down the familiar maze of hallways.

"Thanks" Erin said feeling awkward, very few people called her Erin and in the last week the number had at least doubled.

"How have you been?" Dr Grafton asked.

"Fine" she answered

"Did you get the weekend off?" The doctor asked

"Yeah" Erin said knowing that the doctor was trying to get her to open up.

"So your blood test suggests that everything is normal. I've booked your first ultrasound in a months' time. I'll refer you to an OB/GYN after the scan. Other than that you should probably start taking a pregnancy multivitamin if you haven't already" Dr Grafton said as if it was a well-rehearsed speech. The appointment continued to as if to a script with the doctor listing all the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. Erin conveniently avoided Dr Grafton's questions about work instead trusting her own ability to make the call when the time was right. The appointment was over in no time and the doctor walked Erin out. A quick stop off to buy dinner and Erin was finally home. She hadn't really done very much all day so she headed out for a quick jog before reheating the food she'd bought. There was nothing decent on television so she divided her focus between eating and texting Kelly. His lack of reply indicated that he must have been called out, Erin didn't mind taking the opportunity to shower. Still full of energy she researched parenting advice on her phone while lying in bed. Soon enough discussion of nature vs. nurture had her bored enough to fall asleep.

Feeling ridiculously excited for the day ahead Erin again broke with her usual routine and was ready well before she typically would be. She decided to use the extra time to visit Severide at Fire House 51. Familiar with the way to his office she was relieved not to have to ask anyone for directions, that didn't mean Shay didn't give her a suspicious look. Erin knocked softly before opening the door, Kelly lay stretched out, pillow covering his face. She checked her watch, still too early to head to work. Feeling guilty after a peaceful night's sleep she nudged him gently, when he didn't respond she gave up. Then she spotted his phone on his desk. Using her detective powers (tilting the screen to see the fingerprints) she managed to get past his lock screen. She took a ridiculous selfie and set it as his background photo before putting the phone back in its place. With another unsuccessful attempt to wake him she decided to head into work early.

"Nothing new overnight" Antonio updated as she headed for her desk.

"Really, how reliable is your CI?" She asked, now that she'd agreed to go undercover she wanted to get it over and done with.

"He's good, just going on what he's been told. Tiburon is only still out there because he's notoriously unreliable." Antonio justified.

"Just checking" She assured before getting on with her own work.

"Morning" Halstead announced when he arrived a few minutes later.

"Hey" Lindsay mumbled in reply, focused on the report she was writing.

"Okay guys, we've got a case" Voight announced demanding everyone's attention. "Seventeen year old swim instructor found a gun in his locker this morning, no note or reason. They're checking the gun at the moment, it'll probably end up linked to an unsolved murder. We're treating it as a threat." He informed. "He's the Mayors nephew so this is top priority. Al, you head to the pool, see what you can find out from security tapes. Lindsay you can bring the kid in for questioning." Voight ordered.

"Let's go" Erin said leading the way. Halstead followed obediently, he had long given up hope on ever being allowed to drive. The car trip was longer than expected with a sudden rainstorm bringing traffic to a halt.

"You okay, we haven't talked much recently" Jay asked looking at Erin curiously.

"Yeah I'm fine" She replied keeping her eyes fixed on the stationary vehicle in front of them. Reading his partners mood Halstead decided to give up on trying to talk. Once they arrived Lindsay was straight to work. Into the living room to question the kid, Tyler Hill, then transporting him back to the station. They learned very little in the interview and were frustrated to find that Olinski hadn't had any luck either. Tyler had been highly cooperative so they let him return home, uniforms positioned out front just in case. They had spent half a day but had made very little progress. Thankfully after lunch the report on the gun came in. The serial number traced back to a break in eight months earlier but no other crimes. The ammunition was stock standard and didn't get them any closer to finding out how the gun had ended up in the locker.

"What else can we do?" Antonio asked when Voight emerged from his office mid-afternoon.

"There isn't anything more we can do, we'll keep up the detail on the kid but unless we get something new there's nothing we can do. Keep your eyes and ears open" Voight concluded. As he did so Antonio's phone rang, he left the room to rage the call returning five minutes later with an announcement.

"My CI is certain that Tiburon will be at the opening of that illegal warehouse nightclub on Western next Friday night" He shared making eye contact with Lindsay as he spoke.

"Okay that's what we'll be working on tomorrow" Voight said, essentially dismissing them. Lindsay stayed for another half hour to finish the report she had started that morning. Halstead stated playing games on his phone until Lindsay was ready to leave.

"Dinner?" He asked as they descended the stairs side by side.

"Can't, I've got plans, maybe some other time?" Erin said feeling bad for suddenly shutting him out.

"Sure" he accepted barely able to keep the disappointment from his voice.

"See you in the morning!" She added before getting into her car. He waved as she drove off. Erin went straight home and began cooking. By the time the oven timer sounded she had put together a quick salad and was ready to go. Shay had made her dinner and now she was returning the gesture. Casserole dish in hand she made her way to the car. She had already texted Kelly to let him know her plan and he had been happy to help. Erin drove carefully worried about the food in the passenger seat. She knocked feebly, both hands full. Kelly must have been waiting because barely any time passed before the door swung open.

"Hey" He greeted taking the bag from her hand to help.

"Hello" she answered following him through to the kitchen. On his way he stopped to shout up the stairs at Shay.

"How was your day?" He asked letting her know that he was aware that she had worked all day before slaving away in the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Fine, pretty slow really" She answered before throwing the question back at him. They caught up quickly and soon enough Shay joined the conversation. They ate, talked and laughed until late. When Erin stopped to check the time she was shocked to find that her background picture had been changed to a photo of her sleeping on Shay's shoulder.

"When did this happen?" She asked holding the photo up for them both to see.

"When you went to the bathroom" Shay laughed.

"Oh yeah, thanks for this one" Kelly said holding up his own.

"Any time" Erin and Shay answered in unison. Kelly gave them a wide eyed look in response.

"I'm going to drive you home" He said before the two could say the same thing again.

"I can drive myself" Erin protested.

"But I want to" was his childlike response.

"Alright" She caved, too tired to argue. Shay watched on with a smile as Kelly located his jacket then handed Erin hers.

"Have fun!" Shay said with a suggestive grin as they pulled the front door closed behind them.

"Thank you for dinner" Kelly said getting into Erin's car.

"That's okay, I know you guys had a busy shift" She replied pulling away from the curb and into the trickle of late night traffic.

"You had a whole day at work too" He reminded. She didn't bother to reply, it was true but it had been her idea and she was glad to have spent the evening getting to know Kelly and Shay. He followed Erin into the apartment and within minutes they were snuggled together in bed.

"No snoring or pillow thieving, I have work tomorrow" Erin enforced before pulling away from him to roll into her preferred sleeping position.

"I'll do my best" He promised before roughly yanking the pillow out from under her head. He placed it under his head forcing her to revert to using his chest as a pillow. She tried once or twice to sneak the pillow away from him when he drifted off to sleep but each time he caught her and hugged her tighter. Giving up she yawned softly and was asleep in minutes.

**Still finishing chapters with sleeping…sorry it's a very hard habit to break though I will make more of a conscious effort from now on. I have no idea how many chapters this will end up being but I am quite happy posting one a day :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six already! I'm really getting the hang of writing but my editing/proof-reading skills could so with some improvement. Feel free to let me know if you spot any errors so I can fix them up…I know that a few chapters back there was a sentence that didn't make any sense but I couldn't find it when I read through yesterday. Anyway, enjoy :D**

"Erin, you're going to need something appropriate to wear" Voight said eager to be well organised for the meet with Tiburon.

"He means quite the opposite" Antonio added with a smile. He was right, there would be nothing appropriate about the outfit she wore, modesty didn't attract the attention of illegal weapons traders.

"I'm going to hit the shops, I had to get rid of my last one" Erin said recalling the way their target had tried to get her drunk but had ended up completely inebriated himself. He'd then proceeded to vomit all over her.

"Don't take forever, there is actual work to be done" Voight reminded.

"I won't" Erin assured, she knew exactly what she was looking for just not where to find it.

"You coming?" She asked tapping on Halstead's desk to get his attention.

"Sure" He was up and following not half a minute later. Finding a parking space took longer than Erin had anticipated the entire shopping trip would take but she was determined and soon enough they were in the first shop. Erin did a lap highly focused before leaving the store and heading to the next one. Three shops later they arrived in one that would stock the kind of dress she was after. Halstead found a chair and played games on his phone while Lindsay compared the options. Finally happy with a scandalous black dress she was briefly interrupted by a friendly shop assistant who suggested an alternative. The two dresses were very similar but Erin didn't know which would be best for the job at hand so she concluded that trying them on was the best way to decide.

"I'll be back in a sec" She informed Halstead before disappearing into the change room. When she hadn't come out ten minutes later Halstead went to investigate.

"Lindsay, you okay?" He enquired through the change room door.

"Almost done" She said before pulling open the door, both dresses were on their hangers and she was busy pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"I thought you were supposed to show me them both on so I could help you choose" Halstead said slightly disappointed not to have seen her in the two, short, tight dresses.

"No" Erin said, it was embarrassing enough that she was buying ridiculous clothing to lure a criminal she didn't need her partner seeing that much skin. At least not for any longer than was strictly necessary. She handed the black dress to the shop assistant and made the purchase. They walked briskly back to the car, Erin threw the bag on the back seat and was about to get in the car when Halstead made his request.

"Lindsay seeing as I was patient while you were shopping, can I get a hot dog?" He asked, every part the hopeful schoolboy.

"Fine, but hurry up" She replied well aware that Voight wouldn't be happy with how long it had taken.

"You want one?" He asked turning on his heels.

"No" She decided, emphasising this with a shake of the head. Erin watched him from the car tapping impatiently as he joined the queue. What felt like an age later he joined her in the car. The first thing she noticed was the smell, it had never been so overpowering and sickening. Taking control she took a deep breath before starting the car. Halfway back to the district she rolled the windows down, knowing that if she didn't she'd lose her breakfast.

"That was amazing, and well worth the wait" He announced upon finishing his mid-morning meal. Just thinking about it made Lindsay feel green so she ignored the comment trying to get the smell out of the car.

"How'd you go?" Antonio asked when the two young detectives arrived.

"Got what I needed" Lindsay replied holding up the bag as proof. She went and stashed it in her locker before heading to the bathroom, thankfully the hot dog induced nausea had mostly passed. She still looked a little pale but there was nothing she could do about it so she made her way to her desk and got on with work.

"You still have the shoes from last time right?" Halstead checked, busy formulating his own plan.

"Yep" Lindsay answered picturing the pair of heels with the dress she had just purchased. They wouldn't look bad together. Halstead seemed content with the answer and continued to work silently. Olinski and Ruzek arrived minutes later pleased to inform Lindsay that they had spoken to the barman and had come to an agreement that he would make sure her drinks were alcohol free. She couldn't afford to get drunk while undercover and it was convenient in terms of the pregnancy as well. Thanking Alvin and Ruzek she headed out for lunch. In reality she went home and tried to sleep for half an hour. Arriving back at work she was pleased to see that nobody had missed her. The afternoon dragged on as they worked on the final details of the meet. At quarter past four they were called out to look at a home invasion which they quickly identified as insurance fraud. Finally it was time to head home. Severide was standing, leaning on the bonnet of her car, waiting. Throwing a glance over her shoulder she was glad that he colleagues were slow to leave.

"Good day?" He asked as she approached.

"Not bad" She answered wondering why he had felt the need to be there in person.

"Good" Kelly said getting into her car. "Any plans for dinner?" he asked placing his hand on her leg.

"No, I'm not hungry" Erin replied, just thinking of food made her feel nauseous. She could still smell hot dog when she thought of food. She pretended to be more focused on the road and the conversation died.

"Are you alright?" He asked when they arrived at her apartment.

"I'm fine" She answered without even stopping to think.

"Alright, I'll make dinner but I want to watch the news first" Kelly said knowing full well that she was not fine.

"I'm really not hungry" she protested weakly before leaving him to watch the news while she had a shower. She emerged feeling fresh and even a little hungry so she headed straight for the kitchen.

"Nice shower?" He asked looking up from the stove.

"Yeah, I'm just going to have some pasta. I feel sea sick" Erin revealed remembering the time Hank had tried to take her fishing over summer break.

"That's fine" He said turning to look at her sympathetically. She grabbed a bowl and some of the pasta he had just cooked before settling at the table to eat. Eating slowly to minimise the potential of the pasta making a reappearance Erin was pleased to watch him working smoothly in her kitchen. Kelly joined her at the table keeping a watchful eye on her. She kept him company while he finished eating then made for the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"I can sleep at my place if you'd prefer" He said watching her climb into bed.

"No, I want you to stay" She said suddenly sounding vulnerable. He got ready for bed quickly and joined her minutes later. Pulling her close he was pleased when she yawned softly. He listened carefully as her breathing slowed and soon enough they were both fast asleep.

The sound of the toilet flushing woke him, he knew instantly that he hadn't been asleep for more than an hour. He got up cautiously and found Erin in the bathroom brushing her teeth vigorously. She noticed his presence but continued brushing. Kelly stood in the doorway looking both stunned and half asleep.

"I didn't mean to wake you" she croaked apologetically when she finished brushing.

"I don't mind" He replied pulling her into his arms. They stood there hugging for a long time, summoning the energy to move, even if it was just to get back in bed. Eventually she moved grasping his hand, they both flopped into bed and got comfortable. With his hand on her stomach she felt calm enough to sleep.

**I am really excited about the undercover element of Lindsay's work and I feel like a kid with a secret knowing what's going to happen when you guys don't…You'll just have to keep reading ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

Erin's alarm went off waking them both. Kelly's arm tightened around her waist and she dozed momentarily. Knowing that time was ticking on made it impossible to sleep so Erin seized the moment and got up. He followed her to the kitchen and they ate in silence, she had toast and a banana, eating while she could. She took one of the pregnancy multivitamins then proceeded to get ready for the day. She said a quick goodbye to Kelly who was getting ready for work as well.

Erin's phone rang on the way into work and she spoke hands-free while Hank redirected her to an office building in the CBD. They were tasked with interviewing the colleagues of a lawyer who was presently being held hostage by one of his clients. Erin was the second to arrive after Dawson who was speaking animatedly with a rude young lawyer. Voight was asking the senior partner of the firm about the history between the hostage and his client. As a divorce lawyer he was responsible for mitigation and asset division. Erin started with the hostage's personal assistant who probably knew him and his clients better than any of the other lawyers. The rest of the team arrived and got to work but few of the firm's other lawyers had much to do with divorce lawyer William Herston, and none of them had met his client and current hostage taker David Wate. They made little progress until they were sent to speak with David's soon to be ex-wife. Even then the whole team was overkill so Lindsay, Halstead and Dawson went to speak with David's wife. Voight stayed on scene and the rest of the team headed back to the district.

"Mrs. Wate?" Lindsay asked the middle aged woman who answered the door.

"Yes, what's going on?" She asked looking concerned.

"We need to talk with you about your husband" Lindsay said eyeing the two children watching from the bottom of the staircase.

"Come in" she said letting the three detectives into the sitting room. "Go play upstairs" she yelled to the kids.

"Ma'am your husband is currently holding his lawyer, William Herston, hostage. Can you tell us about your divorce so far?" Antonio asked.

"Well he isn't happy with the shared custody, he wants Bella and Layla every other week but I've only agreed to weekends. He works in construction so he doesn't get home til late sometimes and the girls have music and sports after school. Andrew probably just told him to give up and agree to the current terms. David has been getting so angry, over the smallest things lately. He started talking with an old school friend who likes to go shooting, I hate guns and wouldn't let him keep them in the house. Sorry for rambling, I just don't know what you need." She finished looking up anxiously.

"That's fine ma'am" Antonio said.

"Would you be able to get someone to watch the kids? So you can come talk to David" Halstead asked hopefully.

"Of course, I can get my sister to come over, she lives just around the corner. I can call her now." Mrs Wate said standing up to get her phone from the kitchen bench.

"Thank you" Antonio said.

"We'll head back and see how negotiations are progressing if you're happy to bring her in" Lindsay suggested.

"Fine by me" Antonio agreed in his usual no fuss manner.

"See you there" Lindsay added leaving the room just as Mrs Wate finished her phone call. Lindsay and Halstead drove back into the city but struggled to find a car park, after five minutes of looking she pulled up in a loading zone. Halstead did something he'd done a million times but as soon as he did Lindsay knew she'd have to explain. Checking the time using Lindsay's phone revealed a background picture he hadn't been expecting, Erin sleeping on the shoulder of an attractive blonde. On further inspection he recognised the blonde suddenly jumping to conclusions about their relationship.

"What?!" Halstead asked still unable to tear his eyes away from the photograph.

"Oh ignore that" She responded knowing full well she wouldn't get away with it so easily.

"Is there something you've been meaning to tell me?" He asked.

"It's definitely not what you're thinking" Lindsay replied realising that they were wasting time. She refused to answer any further questions using the case at hand as an excuse. They checked in with Voight before letting the head negotiator know that Mrs Wate was on her way in. The rest of the team had tracked down Nathan Mullins, the high school associate with the shooting hobby. Mullins was frustratingly obtuse more interested in working out what type of gun David was holding to his lawyers head than diffusing the situation. Less than ten minutes later they were joined by Dawson and Mrs Wate who was trying her best not to let the situation get to her.

"I'll take her over to Sergeant Greg" Lindsay volunteered wanting a quick word with her.

"Thank" Antonio said heading towards Voight.

"The Sergeant will tell you what you need to say to David, do as he says. If he makes you lie try to sound as genuine as possible. Remind him that he's doing this for the kids and that if he pulls the trigger he won't be seeing them for years" Lindsay advised, the reality hit Mrs Wate when Erin used the word trigger. This was no silly stand-off, her husband was threatening to kill their lawyer.

"Thank you" the frazzled woman said when Lindsay had introduced her to Sergeant Greg. Erin returned to the rest of the team and watched in awe as the tactical response team moved in. There wasn't much more they could do but wait and hope that Mrs Wate would be useful to the negotiation process. They made her call her husband and sure enough minutes later he surrendered himself. He was arrested and taken away for a psychological evaluation. The intelligence unit made their way back to the district where they started work on yet another case. Erin was relieved when it came time to head home but was stopped in her tracks by a very confused Halstead. She took him to a local burger joint and explained that Shay had simply taken advantage of the fact she had fallen asleep. Of course then she had to explain why she had been spending time with Shay, she tried to give him as little information as possible but he was persistent.

"I went to Shay and Severide's place to watch some movies that's all. I messed around with his background so the same happened to me" Erin clarified.

"So are you dating him then?" Jay asked with a combination of jealousy and protectiveness.

"I'm not sure I'd call it dating." She answered unsure how to describe their relationship.

"But you want to be?" Jay pressed.

"Eventually, maybe. I haven't left you out of the loop, I don't even know what we're doing half the time." She justified eating the last chip on his plate.

"It's fine, there's a line between personal and professional but I've always seen you as a friend, not just a colleague." He said watching her intently, he could tell that there was something about the relationship she wasn't telling him but he knew he'd pried enough for one night. "I'll see you in the morning then" He said, ending the awkward silence.

"Okay" Erin replied standing to follow him out. They went their separate ways and Erin was left to mull over the fact that she might have just changed the dynamic of their partnership irreversibly.

**I know this chapter was fairly boring but things are going to get very exciting very soon! Seriously tomorrow's chapter is looking pretty great (even if I do say so myself)… And it's twice the length of todays! If I wasn't working all week I would totally post it today but I need to stay one ahead just in case :D **


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm really pleased that this is going so well! I've never managed to dedicate myself to just one story for so long (eight chapters in eight days is pretty cool!). Hope you are enjoying this as much as I am :D**

The week had passed fairly smoothly, morning sickness hit occasionally, always triggered by smells. Erin had successfully avoided being sick at work. She spent as much of her spare time as she could with Severide, they were becoming very close but she was hesitant to get involved in anything more than a strong friendship. Her concerns centered around the fact that if they became more than friends and it didn't work out it would be nigh impossible for things to return to the way they had been. Their baby deserved both parents and she didn't want to jeopardize that possibility. As Wednesday rolled in Erin was thankful that Kelly was on shift so she didn't have to explain that she was going undercover, late at night to try to seduce a criminal. Withholding information wasn't something that she wanted to do but he was worried enough about her working normally that the mention of undercover work would be sure to start an argument. Seeing as the nightclub scene didn't kick off until at least nine at night Voight had given them the afternoon off. Erin had eaten and tried to sleep but couldn't kick the anxiety she was feeling. She went for a jog then headed to the district, it was only an hour early and she was sure Halstead and Ruzek could do with some guidance. Since Jin's death the two had taken responsibility for making sure their technology was up to scratch. At the moment they were making sure that the wire they had hidden in Lindsay's clutch was able to pick up enough sound. It was going to be difficult to remove the layers of background nightclub noise from the recording but it was the best they had.

"How's it going?" Erin asked when she arrived.

"Pretty good" Halstead responded not looking up from his work. They were clearly on the right track so Erin went back to her desk and went over the plan for the evening followed by a series of worst case scenarios. As soon as Voight and the rest of the team arrived she headed to the bathroom to get dressed. She emerged into the room feeling ridiculous, the tight black dress was shorter than anything she'd worn around the team before and she felt self-conscious. The crazy heels she owned specifically for these occasions made her considerably taller and contained a GPS tracker, just in case. The thing she was most worried about was the fact that the dress exposed a fair amount of chest, the split met at the halfway point between sternum and navel. Deep down she was just hoping she wouldn't need to run. She took a deep breath knowing that any second the eyes of her male colleagues would scan her thoroughly.

"Good job Lindsay" Voight said after a quick look.

"You certainly look the part" Antonio confirmed. Halstead and Ruzek were too busy staring to comment, she ignored them but it didn't mean she couldn't feel their eyes lingering longer than necessary.

"Are we ready?" She asked wanting to get back into jeans and flats as soon as possible.

"Almost" Halstead replied double checking the clutch, satisfied that it was working he handed it to her. Their eyes met momentarily and he knew he shouldn't have stared. Erin checked herself using the reflection in her phone screen before slipping the device into the clutch.

"Okay, this is just a preliminary meeting, trying to get some interest. Halstead, keep an eye on Lindsay at all times but don't be obvious about it. Lindsay do whatever you have to" Voight instructed conveying more with his eyes than his words. "Alvin, Antonio and I will be in the van out the back, watching and listening to everything" He continued making sure everyone was on the same page.

"Ruzek, you drive her in, drop her off and wait in the car, keeping an eye on the entrance and giving us a heads up when Tiburon arrives" Olinski added making sure his young partner was clear on his role.

"Good to go" Lindsay said smoothing the dress out of nervousness.

"We'll be there. You can leave at any time" Voight reminded Lindsay quietly as they headed down the stairs. She wasn't wearing nearly enough considering the weather but she had Ruzek put the cars heating on full blast. By the time she had to get out of the car she was uncomfortably hot.

"Good luck" Ruzek said as Lindsay reached to open the door.

"See you later" She replied getting out of the car. She walked confidently to the clubs obese bouncer who let her in with a wink and a smile. The nightclub was a converted warehouse, a large open space with a bar at one end and a stage at the other. The music blasted, loud enough to be heard several blocks away, the floor space nearest the stage packed with young, inebriated patrons. Lindsay headed for the bar spotting Halstead talking to a pretty red head on the way. She purchased a drink, alcohol free red wine, and found an empty table from which she could see almost everything. Surveying the room she spotted a man selling drugs to a group of young women, fighting her instincts she remained seated occasionally sipping at her drink. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Voight _'In place. Waiting. E'. _Halfway through her second glass she saw Halstead make the signal, Tiburon was arriving. She spotted him seconds later doing exactly what she had done, having a good look around before heading to the bar. Watching him intently she barely noticed the young man approaching her table.

"Hey gorgeous, mind if I sit here?" He asked drawing her attention away from the target.

"Yes I do, go away" She said finishing with a dangerous smile. Thankfully he got the message and wandered off to talk to another lone female three tables away.

"You going to send me away too?" Tiburon asked standing right before her. She had been so distracted that she had failed to see him approaching.

"I'm waiting for a friend" Lindsay said pulling out her phone to keep up appearances. "I don't think she's coming though so feel free" She added gesturing to the empty chair. He took the invitation gladly watching her intently as she scanned the room for any sign of her 'friend'.

"She mustn't be a very good friend" He commented taking a sip of his own drink.

"Something's probably come up" She responded the perfect mix of frustrated and defensive.

"Well don't worry, I'll keep you company" Tiburon assured unable to keep his eyes from drifting down her body. Lindsay didn't reply instead taking a sip of her drink, allowing him to stare as much as he liked. "What's your name?" He asked after a long, friendly pause.

"Zara, yours?" She asked.

"You can call me Ti" He said reaching to touch the hand she had left on the table.

"Well, Ti. What do you do?" She asked trying to sound friendly.

"Bit of this and that" He replied vaguely slipping her a look that translated to 'illegal'.

"Mysterious, I like that" Lindsay replied tilting her head in a carefully calculated way to indicate interest.

"What about you?" He probed.

"I've just taken over the family business, Daddy had to go away for a little while" She said making it obvious that her 'father' was in prison.

"That must be hard on you" Ti said with a concerned look.

"I should have paid more attention, Daddy had a contact for everything" Lindsay said playing the part perfectly.

"Everything?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah" She said unable to hint any less subtly.

"Well, not to brag, but, I'm pretty well connected. Let me know what you need and I'll see what I can do" He offered watching her carefully.

"I have the men, I just need the guns" She said draining her glass to give him the opportunity to think on what she had said.

"You might just be in luck there, that's my area of expertise" He laughed watching her intently.

"No! Really?" She said amazed by the 'coincidence'.

"Oh yes. But I'm not here on business, let's talk about you" Ti said now holding her hand.

"Me, nothing much to talk about" She said sounding modest.

"Are you saying a pretty girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?" He asked.

"I don't have time for one" She answered allowing the blush to fade.

"Work can't be everything" He advised wisely moving closer and closer.

"That's true" She said looking to her empty wine glass.

"I'll get you another, what do you want?" He asked taking her glass.

"Same again, the barman knows me" Lindsay answered watching as he walked away, she sighed deeply, acting was exhausting and she wasn't even done yet. She waved and smiled when Ti pointed her out to the barman but otherwise kept her mind on how to lead the conversation.

"Here you go" Ti said returning with the drink a few minutes later.

"Thank you" She said politely, pretending not to notice that he had dragged his chair even closer to her. They kept talking, he kept getting closer. Lindsay caught Halstead's eye, he gave a questioning look but remained where he was. The conversation rotated away from work to family and travel before she led it back to weapons.

"I should go. But we'll have to talk again soon, here's my number" She said pulling out a pen from the clutch. Lindsay scrawled the number on the back of his hand.

"I don't want you to go" He said taking her hand as soon as she had put the pen away. She didn't know what face to pull accidentally settling on alluring. He pulled her even closer, until she stood in front of him their faces inches apart. Lindsay had an idea and took the opportunity before anything else could happen. She leaned in and kissed him, slowly and gently before pulling out of his reach and walking away. She walked confidently toward the exit smiling at Halstead as she passed. She turned left and walked a block before doubling back and meeting the rest of the team in the van.

"Nice" Antonio commented watching her struggle to straighten the dress.

"Anyone got a mint?" She asked unable to get rid of the taste of his drink.

"Here" Ruzek said handing her a box of tic-tacs, she emptied half a dozen into her hand and tossed them into her mouth before handing the box back.

"We're just waiting for Halstead, then we're good to go" Voight said pointing to the top left monitor where the young man could be seen sitting at a table, the red head from earlier now on his lap.

"Well I might head back with Ruzek and get changed" Erin mumbled through the mouthful of mints.

"Okay, see you there" Voight said watching as she pulled off the heels before getting out of the van.

"That was really cool" Ruzek said as he chauffeured her back to the district.

"What was?" She asked slightly confused by the praise.

"You stayed in character so well and you left him wanting more so he'll initiate the next meet" He analyzed. Unfortunately the back door was locked so Erin had to suck it up and head in the front.

"Interesting look" Sergeant Platt commented as Lindsay walked past, heels clicking as she walked. She ignored the comment making her way up the stairs slowly. Ruzek held open the door for her being more gentlemanly than she thought possible. Much to his disappointment she headed straight to the locker room changing into jeans and a T-shirt. She washed off the make-up and carried her shoes with her back to her desk. She was lacing up her left shoe when the rest of the team arrived.

"Alright, I know it's late so I want everyone to go home get a good night's sleep, we'll go over things tomorrow" Voight instructed when everyone had settled. Lindsay was the first person out the door closely followed by Halstead.

"Good job tonight" He congratulated.

"Yeah, I totally love kissing strangers, hope you enjoyed the show" She snapped, yes it was going to make the case and yes she had volunteered but she was sick of being treated as less than.

"Erin" He said.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired. See you in the morning" She said getting into her car before she could comment further. She drove home, brushed her teeth and had a shower feeling both dirty and unfaithful. Her relationship with Severide was nothing short of complicated but it still felt wrong to have kissed another man, even if it was just part of her job. These stupid thoughts played through her head as she tried to sleep, in the end she gave up and got dressed. The short drive gave her time to realize just how ridiculous she was being. The fire house was lively despite the late hour and it didn't take her long to find him. He excused himself from the game and followed her outside.

"What's going on?" He asked when they were suitably far enough away.

"I just need to talk to you" She said trying to figure out how to convert her thoughts to a conversation.

"It couldn't wait until tomorrow" Kelly commented checking his watch.

"I went undercover tonight, to meet an illegal weapons trader" She said watching as his eyes widened. "I had to kiss him and it felt wrong, I...I just wanted to be honest with you"

"Okay. You were doing your job. It doesn't bother me, I know you have things under control." He said being much more supportive than she had been expecting.

"I don't have things under control though. My feelings for you are...I don't even know" Erin said.

"Feelings are complicated" He said. It was true and she knew it. She couldn't express what she meant adequately with words so she stood on tip-toes and kissed him. He kissed back holding her firmly against his chest. She broke away for air, staying in his arms. The sound of his heartbeat loud as she pressed her head to his chest.

"Thank you" She whispered.

"Go home and get some sleep" He instructed before kissing her again. They walked together to her car where he pressed his hand to her belly gently. "Goodnight" Kelly added watching as she drove away. He headed back to the fire house oblivious to the fact that Shay had witnessed the whole thing from the back of Ambulance 61.

**I didn't do anything too nasty to Erin while she was undercover…despite all the reviews giving me ideas ;) **


	9. Chapter 9

Erin and Kelly were walking in the park, hand in hand when her phone rang. "Sorry" Erin apologised moving away to take the call.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Zara, I've been thinking about you" the male voice said, it took Erin a moment to identify it, Tiburon, or Ti as he'd introduced himself.

"Really" She said sliding straight into character.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to contact you. I have a shipment coming in next week, thought it might interest you" He said.

"That would depend entirely on what it's a shipment of" Erin answered being intentionally coy.

"Not over the phone babe. Lunch tomorrow, I'll text the details" He said with a laugh.

"Sounds fun" She said.

"See you then" He added before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Kelly asked as Erin approached, he had taken a seat on a park bench to wait for her. She sat down beside him before answering.

"Nothing, just work" She said knowing that if she brought up the whole undercover thing she'd ruin their afternoon.

"We should probably start heading back" He said after they had sat in silence for a while. The sun was starting to set and it was getting colder too.

"Come on then" She said getting up, she led the way first running then skipping until he called for her to wait up. "You are so slow, aren't you supposed to be able to run in all that gear?" She challenged when he finally caught up.

"I am able to run in all that gear, I just want to enjoy walking with you" Kelly said taking her hand in his.

"You're so boring" She said pulling to try to get him to walk faster.

"Why are you so eager to get home?" He asked. Erin couldn't think of a decent answer so instead she remained silent enjoying the peaceful moment.

"We should go to Molly's" She suggested as they cornered the last block on the way back to her apartment.

"What for? It's not as if you can drink" He reminded.

"I know, but isn't there a hockey game or something?" She asked.

"Yeah" Kelly said, still unconvinced that it was a good idea.

"So let's go" She reasoned sick of staying in together all the time.

"You realise going to Molly's together is almost the same as announcing we're going out" He warned.

"I'm okay with that" Erin admitted before making him stop so she could kiss him.

"Okay then" He agreed following her up the stairs to her apartment.

"I'm just going to get changed" She said headed for the bedroom.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing? You look great" He yelled. She was back a few minutes later having changed from her plain T-shirt into a Blackhawks jersey.

"This alright?" She asked as he admired the top.

"You would look beautiful in anything" He answered watching her dimples appear as she smiled.

"Shut up" She said throwing him his car keys.

"I'm drinking" He said holding up the keys.

"I can drive your car" She laughed grabbing a jacket on her way out the door. He laughed at the notion then quickly reverted to seriousness when she punched him playfully in the arm. Molly's wasn't particularly crowded, just the usual assortment of firemen and locals.

"Severide, good to see you. Detective" Herrmann greeted as they moved towards the bar.

"Good to see you too" Severide replied.

"What can I get you?" He asked looking at Erin briefly.

"Beer for me, Erin will have juice" Severide said. Herrmann narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I have a big case tomorrow" Erin justified.

"I didn't say anything" Herrmann joked getting their drinks.

"When does the game start?" Kelly asked checking the TV.

"Ten minutes" Herrmann answered. Erin and Kelly selected the table with the best viewing angle for the TV and sat comfortably side by side. Shay joined them ten minutes into the game laughing at how ridiculous hockey was. The fact that Erin was only drinking juice didn't go unnoticed by Shay but she decided to save that conversation for another time. Halstead turned up at halftime saying a quick hello to Erin before joining a table with a few other guys.

"Why doesn't he sit with us?" Shay asked watching the detective's partner walk away.

"He doesn't like Severide" Erin answered honestly.

"Jealous?" Shay asked with a knowing smile.

"He's my partner, nothing could ever happen there" Erin added wondering what it mattered to Shay.

"But if he wasn't?" Shay asked. Suddenly Erin understood, Shay was testing to see that she wasn't going to mess around with Kelly.

"He is. And I'm happy" Erin said closing the distance between herself and Kelly.

"Just checking" Shay defended before turning to watch the players skate back onto the ice. "Here we go again" She muttered before downing the remainder of her beer.

"We don't have to stay for the whole thing" Kelly said noticing that Erin had become tense since her partner had arrived, watching her every move.

"Its fine" She whispered keeping her focus on the game.

"You two are so cute" Shay exclaimed turning to see Erin snuggled to Kelly's side.

"Shay" He warned knowing that his best friend had a knack for being overbearing.

"Sorry" She apologised, it would have been impossible for her to sound any less genuine. The game ended a little while later and the trio got up to leave, thanking Herrmann on the way out.

"I can drop you off" Erin offered Shay who had walked all the way to Kelly's car with them.

"That would be amazing, thanks" Shay said sliding into the backseat.

"I haven't driven a manual in ages so be kind" Erin warned, thoroughly regretting not practicing this particular skill. She had only done enough to pass the test and had avoided manual vehicles since. The silence was meant to help her concentrate but instead it put her off. With a deep breath she pulled out of the car space and transitioned through the gears like an expert.

"What were you worried about?" He asked amazed by her driving ability.

"I was just being cautious in case I stalled" She laughed.

"Smart" Shay added from the backseat. "Thanks again" She said when Erin pulled up out the front of the place she shared with Severide. The drive back to Erin's apartment was silent, both too focused to speak.

"It won't be long before she figures it out" Severide said knowing that nothing got past the blonde paramedic.

"I guess you can tell her, as long as she won't tell anyone else" Erin said knowing that once this game started it was only a matter of time before they forgot who they had and hadn't told.

"You sure?" He asked not wanting to think he was fazed either way.

"It's better to tell her than to make her ask" She said knowing it would be an interesting conversation either way.

"Okay" He said. In no time they were in bed. Erin read the message Tiburon had sent relieved that she was familiar with the restaurant he had booked. She ran through the likely scenarios in her head before going to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be another big day.


	10. Chapter 10

**I can't believe I've made it this far already! **

"Tiburon called yesterday, I'm having lunch with him so we can discuss the shipment he has coming in soon" Erin shared standing in front of the whiteboard to address everyone.

"Where?" Voight asked, they had had more than a week to prepare for the last meeting, knowing they only had a few hours made him nervous.

"Inferno, the fancy restaurant in the city" Erin said knowing that Voight was concerned for her safety, he had no reason to be though.

"Ruzek, ever worked as a waiter?" Antonio asked knowing it would be the easiest way to have someone on the inside.

"No, but it can't be that hard" He said eagerly.

The team spent the next few hours getting ready for the meeting. The floor plan of the restaurant was drawn in the whiteboard and they discussed all the details thoroughly. Lindsay went to get dressed, this time in tight jeans and a button down that made the most of her cleavage. She knew wearing the same shoes twice could blow her cover so she settled on a pair of plain black flats. Adding a little make-up was the final piece of the puzzle and soon enough Halstead was pulling up outside Inferno.

"Stay safe. I can be there in less than a minute if you need me" Halstead reassured watching his partner psych herself up for the encounter.

"I'll be fine" She replied, more for her own peace of mind than his. She strode into the restaurant making her way straight to the table where Ti sat.

"Zara, lovely to see you" He greeted.

"This place is nice" Lindsay responded after a moment scanning the room.

"Nicer now that you're here" Ti flattered enjoying the smile that spread across her face.

"Business first?" She asked hoping he wouldn't get too off topic.

"Of course" Ti nodded starting to realise that 'Zara' wasn't as dumb as she seemed. Ruzek arrived with menus in hand and guided the pair through the specials like he'd been doing it for years. Lindsay and Tiburon discussed the shipment and price making sure she didn't agree to anything yet.

"You'll have to come and try one before you buy" Ti offered wondering how she would react.

"You'll have to teach me" She said knowing it was a risky move.

"I'd love to" He said with a wink as their meals arrived. They ate while discussing the latest gossip on the Chicago criminal scene. Lindsay struggled to eat, the smell of his steak set off her nausea. "How many do you need anyway?" Ti asked being vague now that a couple had been seated so close.

"Thirty?" She asked watching carefully to gauge his reaction.

"Easy" He said with a laugh.

"Forty?"

"Can do" Ti said with a wink.

"Deal" Lindsay replied watching as he finished his meal. They chatted quietly until Ruzek came to collect their plates.

"Shipment arrives next Tuesday so why don't we meet on Wednesday morning" He suggested after paying for the meal.

"Sounds good. Text me the address. I have to go" She said, worried that she could be sick at any moment.

"Okay" He answered, suddenly seeming equally eager to leave.

"Bye" She added turning and heading for her car. Sliding into the backseat she was pleased to see Halstead looking so calm.

"That went well" He commented starting the car, procedure dictated that they drive aimlessly around for ten minutes in case they were being followed.

"Yeah, wasn't so bad" Lindsay said feeling worse in the confined space.

"Good job everybody, we'll see you back at the district" Voight said over the radio taking Lindsay's attention off her nausea momentarily. Halstead showed her the first bar he had bought a beer at and chattered on oblivious to his partner's discomfort. She remained silent in the back seat focusing intently on her shoes ignoring him completely.

"Have you even been listening?" He asked looking at her through the rear view mirror.

"No" She answered looking up at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, he'd never seen her so pale.

"Fine" Lindsay said thankful that they were at the last set of traffic lights.

"If you say so" Halstead said parking in their allocated space. He opened her door for her but didn't comment despite the fact her face was the same colour as her shirt.

"I'll just get changed" She said before Voight could force them to analyse the meeting. She stopped in the bathroom feeling instantly better once her stomach was empty. Then proceeded to get changed. As she made her way to her desk Halstead bounded up the stairs a strange look on his face. Lindsay and Dawson were the only people in the room and they were exactly who he needed to speak with.

"There's been an explosion, one of the paramedics from 51 is dead!" He said watching the horror spread across their faces.

**To be continued…**

**My very first cliffhanger…And I feel really mean about doing this to my faithful followers, favouriters and reviewers! So when I said I wasn't going to follow ****all**** the plot of season three some people assumed I wasn't going to kill off a particular paramedic but it was always my intention…Not to say that I don't love and miss her it's just a great opportunity for character/relationship development…Please don't hate me **


	11. Chapter 11

**So I feel like a terrible person and I really don't want to lose readers over this but I'm not going to change my story... I planned it this way from the very beginning (I started planning this fic following the season two crossover, ****before**** the season finale – I was going to have her shot to get Erin involved though…). To persuade you to keep reading I'm posting twice today …Consolation prize? I know it doesn't make up for it...The last chapter was quite short as well…Sorry **

Antonio pulled out his phone dialling rapidly. "Gabby, it's so good to hear your voice" Antonio said breathing a sigh of relief when his sister answered her phone. At the same time Erin's stomach sank.

"I've got to go. Tell Voight" Erin said knowing she would get in trouble later. She rushed to the hospital pleased to see familiar faces in the waiting room. "Where's Severide?" She asked after scanning the crowd hopefully. If Shay was dead Severide could easily have been seriously injured.

"He's gone" Casey said pausing for slightly longer than necessary "he owns a cabin up near the lake, he went there when Andy died, so he's probably on his way there now too" he finished.

"Thanks" Erin said turning on her heels and making her way home. The drive gave her time to think. She tried calling his phone, she paced back and forth waiting for some form of contact. Soon enough she realised there was nothing she could do. Feeling utterly useless she went for a jog hoping it would help clear her head. When that didn't work she cleaned her apartment top to bottom ignoring Voight's calls as she did so. As she lay in bed, exhausted physically and emotionally, she realised just how much she had been looking forward to Kelly's company. Sleeping in his arms was so much easier than sleeping alone.

The first two days without him were the hardest. The crew of fire house 51 had moved from shock to mourning. Erin dropped by with doughnuts on behalf of District 21, it was strange to be there without him. Without so much as a text message to say that he'd arrived safely Erin spent every spare moment pacing and fretting. She faced Voight the next morning fully prepared for his wrath.

"You did what you had to" He commented seemingly unfazed by her disappearance.

"Thank you" She said making sure he knew just how much she appreciated his lenience. Work temporarily took over forcing her to focus as they raided a drug lab and arrested a low level dealer. By the time they had brokered a deal with him it was late. She went home and slept.

After work the next day she headed back to the fire house.

"Can I have a word" Erin asked assertively as she approached Lieutenant Casey.

"Of course" He said looking around. Once he was certain they were alone he asked "What can I do to help?"

"Do you have the address of this cabin?" She asked.

"I do" He replied.

"I need to know he's okay" She said hoping he would understand the position she was in.

"He isn't. He won't be for a long time. He'll come back when he's ready" The fireman said having experienced the same thing following Andy Darden's death.

"Please?" Erin asked stooping to a new low.

"You're intelligence, you could find out if you wanted to. I just don't think it would be a good idea" He reasoned. Erin gave him a very frustrated look before walking away, worst thing was that she knew he was right.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything" Casey called as she went.

Giving up on Severide life went back to the way it had been before: work, jog, eat, sleep and repeat. Her not so 'morning' sickness made life a little more interesting but other than this occasional reminder it was almost possible for her to forget that she was pregnant at all. The intelligence unit kept a watch on the warehouse Tiburon had invited her to but knew little about its internal layout. This made planning the encounter difficult but not impossible. Determined to catch him red handed they worked on acquiring the necessary funds to pay for the weapons. They'd be getting it all back at the end of the day but securing that much cash was challenging. Lindsay decided it would be best if Halstead went in with her, having someone there to watch her back couldn't hurt. The team tackled a series of other, less important cases over the week but at the end of the day they always turned their attention to the impending meeting. Tuesday came and went in a flash. Erin was conflicted about Kelly's absence, she wanted to be there for him, but he had left without a word. On the other hand it made it far easier to focus on work. Home alone that night she struggled to get to sleep, unable to stop her mind racing with worse case scenarios. Eventually she ran out of eventualities and fell asleep. Next thing she knew her alarm was going off. She got up and double checked the time, certain it couldn't possibly be morning already. One more day, one more criminal to catch. She arrived at work bright and early, ready for the day ahead, or so she appeared. Voight didn't like it, he wanted to call the meeting off and approach from a different angle. Lindsay shut the door of his office and forced him to see that the benefits outweighed the risks.

"You ready for this?" Lindsay asked as they geared up for the meet.

"Of course. Here" He said pulling a vest roughly over her head.

"He's going to notice" She said fighting to take the vest off.

"I'll go talk to Voight, call the whole thing off if you don't wear it!" He threatened, more serious than she had ever seen him.

"Fine" She said, frustrated by his insistence. He pulled the Velcro tab noticing that it didn't quite tighten as much as usual. Her eyes challenged him to comment but he'd known her for long enough not to take the bait. Lindsay pulled a sweater over her head, straightening it to look as normal as possible, then she added her coat.

"Time to go" Antonio called down the stairs wondering what was taking the pair so long.

"Coming" Lindsay called before looking back to check that Halstead was actually ready.

"Let's do this" Halstead said taking the stairs two at a time. The team went over the plan one last time before piling into three separate vehicles and making their way to the warehouse, or close by. As Lindsay and Halstead approached the dilapidated building a roller door opened.

"You've got my back right?" Lindsay asked.

"Of course" He said driving the car into the warehouse, it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. When they did they saw three large crates of guns, Tiburon and a mean looking guy, his back up. "Anything else?" Halstead asked putting the car in park.

"I'm pregnant" Erin said calmly before getting out of the car.

**To be continued…**

**This cliffhanger thing is quite addictive... Not my best chapter by any means, I know it's kind of just pieces but I couldn't really find a way to fix it. See you tomorrow :D **


	12. Chapter 12

**Early update because it's the weekend :D I apologise in advance for the use of an expletive…**

**I apologise in advance for the use of an expletive…**

Halstead froze in shock, surely she was just messing with him. While he was busy freaking out she had proceeded to greet Tiburon with a hug and kiss.

"Nice to see you" Ti said releasing her from the embrace.

"You too. I brought a friend, hope you don't mind" Lindsay said.

"Of course not! Pretty girl like you meeting someone in a scary big old warehouse, it's the sensible thing to do" He replied watching Halstead intently. Lindsay's partner had recovered from the shock announcement, deciding to at least temporarily pretend it hadn't happened. Halstead had gotten out of the vehicle and was standing beside it, ready to pounce at any moment.

"So show me what you've got" She said with a cheeky smile.

"I won't bore you with details. They're a new model, particularly effective. I'll show you what I mean" He said selecting one of the weapons. Lindsay stepped back allowing him plenty of room. Ti took off the safety and pointed the gun at a stack of cardboard boxes at the far side of the warehouse. Within seconds the boxes were shredded.

"I like it" She commented when he had finished.

"They feel amazing too" He said handing the gun to her, she looked it over cautiously then lifted it to imitate his stance. He moved up behind her helping her position the large gun against her shoulder, then he slid the switch that determined the number of bullets fired when the trigger was depressed. He had been using the continuous setting but decided it would be safer if she tried three shot bursts.

"Now what?" She asked barely remembering to play the part.

"Just pull the trigger" He said still standing safely behind her. She took a moment, regretting not wearing hearing protection, then fired the gun. The recoil was less severe than she had expected and she wondered where these guns were destined, they weren't American that was certain. "Very nice" He commented though there was no way of knowing where her three bullets had ended up amongst the litter of cardboard and his own ammunition. "Just remember to keep here tight" He said placing his hand on her lower abdomen. Unable to fight the instinct to protect her baby her whole body tensed, there was no way he hadn't noticed it. Taking a deep breath to calm herself she feigned lining up a shot while she tried to calm herself, if he moved his hand a centimetre higher he'd be able to feel her bulletproof vest, then her cover would be blown. She depressed the trigger a few times pretending to aim for certain points, in truth she was still trying to figure out how to recover from her mistake.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it" She said trying to sound excited.

"Do you like it?" He asked still uncertain given her strange behaviour, best bet was to get the deal done quickly and be on his way.

"Yes. And you've got forty for me?" Lindsay asked concentrating on his body language, he was nervous, she needed to calm him down.

"Sure thing, show me the cash and we'll get your man to load them up" Ti said turning to check that Halstead hadn't moved. Lindsay gave Halstead a nod and he pulled a briefcase from the back of the car, he brought it over to the pair and laid it carefully on top of the crate of guns.

"It's all here" Lindsay said opening the briefcase for him to inspect.

"Brilliant" Ti answered checking the money carefully before handing the case to his man. Then he showed Halstead the two crates he was to load. Tiburon and Lindsay talked quietly while watching Halstead struggle with the bulky crates, he loaded them into the back of the car then resumed watching from beside the car.

"It's been a pleasure doing business" Lindsay said hopeful that she would be able to make a quick exit.

"We could do more than business" He said closing the space between them in a single stride. Pressing his body to hers he watched her keenly. Lindsay knew instantly that this was a test, she giggled slightly then leaned nearer and kissed him. Hopefully this would be just what was needed to settle his nerves. Content that the kiss would confirm her loyalty the last thing she expected was for him to pull her even closer. He kissed her back holding her tightly, both hands on her back right at the edge of her vest. Sliding his hand up as he deepened the kiss he pulled back suddenly, confused by the bulky vest. Lindsay watched on as he joined the dots.

"It isn't what you're thinking" She managed weakly stepping backward as quickly as she could. His hand had already reached the gun they had trialled and now he raised it ominously. Lindsay knew she wasn't going to make it to cover in time and panic set in. The burst of three bullets hit her in the side, throwing her backwards forcefully. While Tiburon paused to change the gun to continuous fire Halstead kicked into action racing to get his partner to safety. Erin knew she should get up, move out of harm's way but at the same time was stranded on the concrete floor struggling to breathe. From painfully slow to ridiculously fast the pace of the interaction sped as the rest of the intelligence unit arrived. Tiburon was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the shoulder, before he dropped the gun. Erin watched on, still struggling to process what had happened, as Halstead dragged her by the collar to the back of their vehicle.

"Are you okay?" He asked pulling open her jacket roughly.

"I'm fine. Vest" She gasped after a moment.

"F*cking hell Erin!" He said sitting down beside her relief washing over him in a tsunami.

"I'm fine" She lied, there was no way her ribs weren't broken.

"Stay here" Halstead ordered getting up to check the rest of the team and radio for some ambulances, he didn't believe that she was fine at all.

"Where's Erin" Voight asked when Halstead appeared at the front of the vehicle.

"Back there, she's alright, the vest caught it" He explained gesturing over his shoulder.

"You're an idiot" Voight grumbled as he rounded the car to see Erin lying on the ground struggling to breathe.

"I know" She said unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. His actions more than anything proved that how much he cared.

"Don't worry, we got him" Voight said before taking control of the situation, Ruzek was sent out to direct the ambulances, Antonio and Olinski watched the two fugitives and Halstead re-joined Erin on the floor.

"I'm sorry" Erin said looking up at Halstead.

"You aren't though" He said standing as the two ambulance officers approached, Dawson and Mills.

"What's going on?" Dawson asked crouching down beside Erin, trying to assess the situation.

"Caught a couple of bullets, I think I might have broken some ribs" Erin explained watching Halstead's expression of concern turn to disapproval. Even when she could barely breathe she was playing down the situation.

"Okay, we'll get you up, get the vest off and have a look. It's going to hurt no matter what we do" Dawson said watching as the detective grimaced. Erin fought the urge to be sick as she sat up.

"I'm sure it's nothing major" She said once she the pain returned to a bearable level.

"Sure" Dawson said sceptically helping Erin onto the stretcher. "Vitals" Dawson instructed Mills who had until that point been standing back, watching. Lindsay was thankful for Halstead's help in getting the vest off but it seemed to be the last straw for the clearly frustrated detective. Safely in the back of the ambulance Erin felt calmer than she had in days. Concern for the baby took priority but she knew that drowning in regret wouldn't help. Now that she was en route to the hospital there wasn't anything more she could do. She didn't dare tell Dawson but didn't hesitate to tell the Emergency Room doctor that she was pregnant.

"My 10 week ultrasound is next Friday" Erin told the doctor, she hadn't realised just how excited she was to see the baby until she found herself sharing this piece of information.

"I'm going to get a sonographer down to have a quick look. They can check the ribs too, it's easier and safer than getting an x-ray" The doctor said with a friendly smile.

"Okay" She agreed feeling momentarily guilty that Severide wouldn't be there the first time she saw the baby. There was no reason for her to feel that way, he was the one who'd left.

"It might be a little while, just stay there" the doctor instructed leaving Erin alone in the curtained off cubicle. Given the time she was able to reflect on the mornings events, they had Tiburon, and she couldn't change the past, that was all that mattered. Fifteen minutes later Erin was watching her baby intently, it looked more like an alien than a baby but she still felt a strong bond with it.

"Everything looks fine" the sonographer confirmed before moving the probe up to Erin's ribs. It wasn't hard to locate the fractures with a dark bruise already discolouring her lower left ribs. "These will take a while to heal. Take paracetamol for the pain and avoid strenuous activity. There's nothing we can do unfortunately" she said inspecting the three fractures, two a few centimetres apart on the upper rib and one on the second rib. Together they formed a neat triangle.

"Thank you" Erin said watching as the sonographer packed away her equipment.

"I'll get the nurse to bring you some pain relief, then you'll be good to go. Take things easy for a few days" the older woman advised knowing straight away that the young detective wasn't likely to heed her advice. Erin waited patiently, took the tablets then took her time to get up. Breathing was painful which made walking interesting but she wasn't the type to let pain get in her way. Voight was sitting patiently in the waiting room.

"You alright?" He asked, clearly quite worried about her. She usually would have fought hard to avoid being taken to hospital yet she hadn't even complained suggesting the injury was more serious than he had first thought.

"I'm fine, just a few broken ribs. Drive me home?" Erin asked still debating whether or not she should take this opportunity to tell him. He walked her out and took her home, making sure she was comfortable before he left her to rest. She had decided against telling him, she was too tired for the emotional rollercoaster that would ensue.

Halstead stood at Erin's door listening. The last thing he wanted was to talk with her when her hot shot fireman boyfriend was around. Looking down at the bottle of sparkling apple juice in his hand he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He knocked twice.

"Hi" Erin said pulling open the door she looked tired but otherwise fine.

"I think we need to talk" He said hoping she understood what he meant.

"Come in" She said stepping aside to let him through. He made his way to the kitchen and placed his peace offering in the refrigerator.

"How are you feeling?" He said, out of curiosity more than concern. In his opinion she had gotten exactly what she deserved for being so cavalier.

"I'm fine, I know you think I'm stupid. I can't change it" She said, it was as close as he was going to get to an apology.

"Just don't do it again, especially if what you said this morning is true" Jay said steering the conversation in the direction he wanted.

"I am pregnant" She confirmed, the more she said it the easier it became.

"Any reason you're telling me instead of Voight?" He asked still trying to process this admission.

"Because you can't kick me off the team, I can trust you to keep your mouth shut and I can ruin you if you don't" She said, it came across much more darkly than she had expected.

"Good to know we're friends" Jay said ready to leave.

"I know I was stupid and I know that I put my baby at risk today. I'm not going to do any more undercover work and I know you'll have my back the rest of the time. I need to work, it's all I have at the moment" She said knowing it was her last chance to make her case.

"What about the father?" He asked even though there was little doubt in his mind.

"I can manage on my own" She answered, though her eyes suggested it was a much more complicated situation.

"What, he's left you?" Jay asked, rage building.

"No, it's complicated and none of your business" She said, she still didn't know how to approach the Severide situation but defending him came easily.

"Nothing in your life is easy" He commented sympathetically. She took a moment to think on just how true this sentiment was.

"I'm really sorry about today, it won't happen again. You have got to keep your mouth shut though, just act normal" She added although it was difficult to admit.

"If you try to do something dangerous I will tell Voight even if it means losing my job. You are more important" Jay said before patting her on the arm and leaving. Erin sighed wondering when Halstead had gotten the guts to stand up to her. She didn't like it but he was right, her life and the life of her unborn child had to come before work. Picturing the million ways Halstead could give her away she showered and got ready for bed.

**Alright, that wasn't so bad was it!? I know very little about guns so this probably isn't very realistic... Sorry. Also I'm wondering if I need to change the rating on this to M…I used an expletive and I have some plans but nothing will be particularly graphic/descriptive…thoughts/opinions? For those of you who are starting to worry, Kelly will appear in the next chapter ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Good Afternoon! Yet another chapter :D I just wanted to say a quick thanks to stagediva23 who spotted a typo in yesterday's chapter (it's the 10 week ultrasound not 20 weeks) and also for helping to clarify the ratings system. Sorry for mucking around with the ratings but I'm not very experienced… **

The fact that Severide had been back to Chicago for the funeral earlier in the week and hadn't even stopped by was driving Erin insane. It was almost impossible to focus on the case at hand and she was constantly finding herself blankly staring at her screen saver. She gotten so caught up picturing herself and Kelly raising the baby that she felt like stupid schoolgirl intent on marrying her first boyfriend. This was why she had hesitated to make their relationship anything more than friends yet here she was trapped by her fantasies.

"Lindsay?" Halstead said catching her gaze drifting again. He had been trying to tell her about the change in rank of a gang member they had been keeping an eye on.

"Hmm?" She asked snapping back to reality.

"Zion has been promoted, he's in charge after Anton Brady was arrested" Halstead said simplifying his previous statement in the hope that the information would get across.

"Alright" Lindsay said sighing and rubbing her eyes, she didn't know whether to blame her inattentiveness of hormones or lack of sleep.

"You okay?" He asked, he didn't need an answer though. It was evident something was going on, he just wanted to give her an opportunity to confide in him.

"I'm fine, just tired. I'm sorry" She said getting up to stretch her legs. The cold air outside helped her build up the brick wall between work and life. Returning to her desk she managed to do a fair bit of work before Voight left signalling it was okay for them to do the same. Knowing she could leave made it impossible for her to focus, what if she went home to find Severide at her door? What if he was there about to give up and disappear again? With these thoughts rampaging in her mind she called it a night making sure to apologise to her partner once more before leaving. She let herself hope that she'd see Kelly's face as she climbed the stairs only to feel like an idiot when there was nobody there. Grumpy and tired she lazed around, taking a long hot shower then watching television. As the credits for the TV show she'd been watching rolled she reached for her phone. '_Can you come over?_' Erin messaged Jay knowing it would be a matter of minutes before he arrived. She was right, he arrived and got to work in her kitchen as soon he found out she hadn't eaten.

"What's going on?" He asked hoping that the fact she'd invited him meant she was ready to talk.

"I don't even know" She admitted feeling pathetic.

"Can you expand on that? I just want to help" Jay said knowing she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Unless you can raise the dead I don't think you can" Erin said with a groan.

"Sorry, I'm not that good" He said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"The paramedic from 51 was Severide's best friend, he's run off to some cabin to figure himself out. I haven't seen or heard from him in more than a week" Erin said hoping Jay would understand just how much she was trusting him.

"Hmm" Jay said unsure how best to respond.

"Things were going well between us. I just want him to let me in, talk to me instead of running off without a word" She said feeling more insecure than ever before.

"He'll be back, it's just a matter of time" He said trying to comfort her.

"I know. But do I want to have a relationship with someone who just runs off when things go wrong? That can't be a good parenting strategy" She said, it was nice to have another opinion on the matter.

"It'll all depend on how he acts when he gets back" Jay said after thinking for a while. He handed Erin a plate and they moved to the table before continuing the conversation

"And when he gets back" Erin reminded.

"Exactly. There isn't much you can do until that happens" He said thoughtfully.

"I know" Erin said enjoying the meal.

"Just focus on yourself and the baby" He added though he knew he didn't need to.

"Thank you for coming" Erin said realising that while she'd known he would he certainly didn't have to.

"I'll be there for you and this baby, no matter what" He said firmly.

"What on earth did I do to deserve a friend like you" She said, it sounded cliché but she meant it.

"Shut up and eat, then get some sleep" He instructed watching her try not to yawn. Erin pulled a face but did what she'd been told. She was asleep not five minutes after he left.

The thudding grew louder. Erin had incorporated the noise into her dream: she was ramming a door trying desperately to get it open, the rest of the intelligence unit stood waiting, yet the door refused to budge. She woke suddenly realising the thudding was real. Sitting up it took a moment to get her bearings. Then she got up making her way to the door hurriedly. Pulling it open she was surprised to see Kelly, he was paler and a little thinner.

"Hey" He whispered.

"Hi" She replied still trying to wake up fully. He stood watching her momentarily. She stepped aside to let him in. Rather than walking past her he moved closer until she was backed up against the wall he closed the door behind himself. He leaned in and kissed her, slowly and gently. Then he paused to look at her.

"Kelly" She warned.

"Erin" He replied, voice thick with desire. He kissed her again then again getting rougher each time. Meanwhile his hands fumbled with the hem of her shirt. Kelly continued trying to apologise with his lips. She placed a hand on his chest. His mouth crashed to hers yet again as he tried to get her shirt off.

"Stop" She said clearly before pushing him away. She was stronger than he had expected and he stumbled slightly stepping backwards.

"Erin" He pleaded.

"Sex isn't going to fix this" She replied straightening her shirt. The look on his face at this unexpected rejection made her feel mean but she had to stand her ground. He turned and pulled open the door, leaving. "The ultrasound is tomorrow" She wanted to yell but instead it came out as a barely audible whisper. It was too late anyway, he had stormed away like a child that hadn't gotten its way. Erin took a moment before returning to bed. She hadn't seen him in over a week yet she'd just turned him away for trying to apologise. This is what she'd been talking to Jay about hours earlier. Actions spoke louder than words but she didn't want to be in a relationship with someone who couldn't communicate effectively.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for being so late to post…I had work all day :P**

Erin tried not to let the early morning drama with Kelly get to her. She had reflected on the encounter and was certain that she had responded appropriately. She had more important things to think about anyway. Today she was going to see her baby properly, not in hospital because she'd been reckless. Sitting in the waiting room alone Erin came to terms with the fact that while she didn't want to, she was certainly capable of raising the baby alone. It would be hard for the first few years, especially if she wanted to keep working but she would manage if it came to it.

"Erin Lindsay" The nurse called before escorting her to a small room where the sonographer sat waiting.

"Take a seat here" the red-headed sonographer said turning to the ultrasound machine. "And you've had plenty to drink today?" she asked, it was a routine question.

"Yes I have" Erin answered making herself comfortable.

"Alright, shirt up and we'll have a look" the sonographer instructed patiently. Erin obeyed without a word. "So we use this as a dating scan, to get a more accurate due date and check on development so far" the older woman said as she squeezed gel onto Erin's belly.

"That shouldn't be hard" Erin said before realising it might sound rude.

"What do you mean?" the sonographer asked pressing the probe into the gel.

"There's only one possible conception date" Erin answered.

"Well that does make things easier, just over ten weeks according to my measurements" the sonographer answered, she'd been busy measuring away while they'd been talking. Erin turned to look at the small screen, it didn't look much different to last week in the hospital, maybe a little bigger.

"Good" Erin said watching the grey blob intently.

"Everything looks normal" the sonographer said as the ultrasound machine began to whir. "Here you go" she added handing Erin the picture that had just printed.

"Thank you" Erin said holding the picture carefully.

"I'll see you again at 20 weeks" the sonographer said turning off the machine and wiping away the gel.

"Okay, thanks" Erin said standing and pulling down her shirt. That had been much easier than she was expecting. She placed the picture in her jacket pocket and made her way to work. Voight had given her the morning off without asking questions but the rest of the team weren't so tactful. Erin didn't bother to make up an elaborate lie instead telling them that it was none of their business. It didn't take long for them to brief her on the case. Frankie Ahrens, a known criminal, was the main suspect in a string of brutal assaults where rich women had had fingers removed for their rings. To make it worse he'd pawned the rings then gotten his two friends, the Johnson brothers, to rob the pawn shop.

"Detective Lindsay, Matt Casey here. I just wanted to let you know that Severide is back at work here at 51" the fireman said over the phone.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know" Erin replied, at least Severide hadn't retreated back to his cabin. If he was working surely that meant he'd come to terms with Shay's death.

"That's fine, I hope everything works out" Matt said before hanging up. Erin sighed, now the question was whether she should go to him or if she should wait for him initiate contact.

"Who was that?" Halstead asked, he never liked it when she answered the phone while driving.

"Did Voight say which of the Johnson brothers we're looking for?" Lindsay deflected, it was a talent.

"Either, they're both close with Ahrens" Halstead answered hating the way she always shut him out.

"We'll see what their mother has to say" She said pulling up out the front of a neat little house.

"If she's anything like them we're going to need backup" He laughed following Lindsay up the front path.

"She's actually really nice, we've talked before" Lindsay said knocking on the door. She wasn't wrong, a few minutes later they were in the sitting room enjoying tea and cake with a lovely old lady who had the misfortune of having two wayward sons.

"I haven't seen them since Peter's birthday a fortnight ago. No idea where they are. They were talking about some plan, didn't want me hearing but I did. Their friend, Frankie, was planning on robbing the pawn shop on 43rd street, they wanted to help so they could get their fathers war medals back. I told them to stay out of trouble but they haven't listened to me in years" the old woman said looking affectionately at the photos of her sons as boys displayed on the walls.

"Thank you Mrs Johnson. Same as usual, you call me if you hear from them" Lindsay said handing the woman her card.

"Certainly Detective Lindsay. Is there anything else I can get you before you go?" Mrs Johnson asked hospitably.

"We're fine. Thank you for your time" Lindsay said watching Halstead try to shove the rest of the slice of cake in his mouth. It wasn't until there were at the front door that he had swallowed and could speak.

"Thank you ma'am, that cake is amazing" He said with a grin before following Lindsay out into the cold.

"You pig" Lindsay commented once they were on they were in the car.

"That was the best cake" Halstead said trying to justify his behaviour.

"You would have made her day saying that" She commented. "Her boys are both horrible, must have something to do with her husband because she's lovely. They've hidden at her place in the past. I was hoping they'd be there but we're back to square one"

"But we don't have to find them to get to Ahrens, he's who we're after, they're just accomplices" He reminded.

"I know, it's just the best lead we've got at the moment. We'll swing by their old hangout and see if anyone knows anything" She said driving across town. The bar looked even worse than it had the last time she was there, the walls were damp and the whole place stank of mould and alcohol.

"Delightful" He commented watching as the barman tried to polish a filthy glass.

"Larry, lovely to see you!" Lindsay said, the barman's face lit up and he grinned.

"Erin my love" the old man greeted.

"Sorry I haven't been by, work is busy. That's why I'm here" She said sliding onto the barstool directly in front of him.

"Ask away, last time though. Next time you'll have to buy a drink" Larry said putting down the glass and dish towel.

"Of course. Now, have you seen Vince or Peter Johnson in the last week?" Lindsay asked keeping a close eye on him, he'd never been able to lie without his eyes darting to the roof.

"I have, they were in here on Sunday, big mouthing themselves. Going on about how they were going to be rich" Larry answered, he was telling the truth.

"Any idea where they are now?" She pressed.

"I heard Pete say something about a motel on Hillside. Other than that I can't help you" Larry said picking up the glass to resume his polishing.

"Thank you Larry. I'll come round for a drink sometime" Lindsay said leading Halstead back out to the car.

"How long have you known that guy?" Halstead asked.

"A bar fight there was the first call I got as a probationary officer, so forever" Lindsay explained, thinking back to the days when she'd been a uniform.

"Nice" He laughed, it must have always been a dump. "Have you ever bought a drink there?" He questioned.

"Nope but every time is the last time with Larry" She said, they were on their way back to the district with this new information. Voight sent Olinski and Ruzek to scope out the only motel on Hillside Street. Olinski called to confirm that the Johnson brothers were staying there then set up to stake out the place, hopeful Ahrens would drop by. Eventually Ahrens turned up, at 11 that night, ten minutes later all three were in police custody. The intelligence unit charged them and locked them up for the night before calling it a day.

Erin didn't go home instead she drove to fire house 51, Kelly would be on shift but she could no longer help herself. She'd given him plenty of time, they needed to talk, or at least to agree on a time and place to talk. Incidentally Matt Casey was the only person out by the truck when she walked in.

"Detective" He greeted, the look on his face wasn't what she'd been expecting. "Sorry, you just missed him, squad got a call" Casey said explaining his expression.

"That's fine" Erin said. She went to leave but then had an idea. Pacing in Severide's office gave her the chance to question her plan, it could go either way. Content that if nothing else it would guilt him into meeting with her she placed the ultrasound picture on his pillow and left.

**How is Kelly going to react to seeing his baby for the first time?! I feel like I struggle to get Erin's work/life balance right but she makes it hard because she's so committed to her job…Hope you liked it and I'll see you again tomorrow :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Enjoy :D**

Erin arrived a work on time and got on with the report she should have written the day before. At ten she went to the small shop on the corner and bought herself a hot chocolate sipping it slowly as she walked back to the district. She threw Halstead the bag of sour worm lollies she'd bought for him and sat back down behind her desk. Nadia stopped at the top of the stairs a massive bouquet of assorted flowers in her hands.

"Lindsay?" Nadia said hesitantly.

"Damn! Who's sending you flowers?" Ruzek asked.

"No one" Lindsay said, she had crossed the floor and snatched the envelope from the flowers, shoving it in her pocket. "Give them to Platt for me" She instructed making her way back to her desk doing her best to ignore the look Halstead gave her.

"Okay" Nadia shrugged taking the flowers back down the stairs.

"What's that about?" Antonio asked having entered mid-way through the conversation.

"Nothing" Lindsay said, fuming. She was not the type of person who could be bought with flowers and the fact that they had been delivered to her work place, in front of her colleagues, made her irrationally angry. She harnessed her frustration finishing her work in record time.

"Severide is downstairs" Halstead said returning from his late lunch break. With a groan Erin got up and went down to speak with him.

"Hey" the fireman greeted with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" She desperately wanted him back in her life but he was going about it all wrong.

"I just wanted to see you, apologise" He said looking serious.

"I'm at work" Erin explained.

"I'm sorry. I have a reservation at a restaurant for tonight if you want" Kelly said hopefully.

"Okay" She replied knowing she shouldn't be so harsh, he was trying.

"I'll pick you up at seven" He said before he left. Erin returned to work but had made one very important decision, what happened tonight would define their relationship once and for all. She was sick of not knowing.

Kelly arrived at her door at exactly seven that evening. Erin wore jeans, a pretty teal shirt and boots, she pulled on her jacket as she stepped out into the hall.

"You look great" He said trying to get things off to a positive start.

"Thanks" Erin replied, smiling as he opened the car door for her. They parked a short walk from the restaurant and were relieved to be in out of the cold when they entered the establishment. In less than a minute they were seated despite the long line at the door.

"There was a kitchen fire here a few months ago" He explained noticing the inquisitive look on her face.

"Perks of being a fireman" Erin laughed enjoying the way his eyes brightened whenever his job was mentioned.

"Absolutely" Kelly said taking a moment to look at her properly, she looked a little tired but he blamed that on her work. She sat up straight, looking almost tense.

"I missed you" She admitted knowing that if she didn't intervene they'd exchange small talk all evening, achieving nothing.

"I'm really sorry" He replied reaching across the table to hold her hand.

"Good. I'm sorry too" Erin said knowing she would have to be careful when telling him about her undercover work.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked.

"I'll tell you later" She said as the waitress arrived to take their order. They both laughed when they asked for the same thing.

"My best friend died" Kelly said.

"I know, and I don't know that I'd act any differently in your shoes" Erin replied all her anger suddenly evaporating.

"I was a childish idiot for running away instead of dealing with it" he acknowledged.

"You were dealing with it in your own way" Erin said before realising that the conversation was the opposite of what she had expected. Why was she defending his actions while he admitted how dumb he'd been? The silence extended only to be broken when their meals arrived.

"I'm sorry about the flowers, I wasn't thinking straight" He said watching her push the food around on her plate so that the salad wasn't touching the meat.

"Do it again and I won't be forgiving you" She said with a smile.

"I wouldn't want you to! It was an awful idea" Kelly said as he laughed.

"It'd work on a lot of people, just not me" She confessed.

"I'm kinda glad, I'm over pathetic women" He said lovingly. She didn't quite know how to respond to this statement, it seemed to be a well-disguised compliment. "I love that you scare me a little. You handle guns and you're stronger than you look. You're interesting"

"You're not exactly boring" Erin said with a shrug.

"Are you going to tell me what you were apologising for?" He asked.

"I don't want to ruin this" She said prefacing it with a groan. Things had gone a million times better than she had expected.

"You'll have to tell me sooner or later" He rationalised.

"It looks like it's going to snow" She said with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, it might" Kelly said dropping his line of questioning, he'd bring it up again later. They ate in silence for a while enjoying each other's presence more than the food. That was until their desserts arrived, the delicate chocolate work demanded their full attention. Thoroughly full they left, huddling together as they walked back to the car.

"Thank you, tonight was great" Erin said as the arrived at her apartment door.

"You aren't getting off that easy, you have to tell my why you were apologising" He said firmly watching her scrunch up her face.

"What if I show you" She said leading him into her bedroom. She pulled off her jeans changing into her pyjama pants before taking off her shirt. Standing before him in just her bra and pyjama pants she watched his expression change. "This is how close I was to dying" Erin said tracing a line between the bruising and where her vest ended. "And this is how close I was to killing our baby" She added placing a hand protectively over the tiny protrusion that was their baby.

"Erin" He said before pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sorry" She added letting silent tears fall down her face.

"No I'm the one who should be sorry" Kelly fought back.

"You couldn't have stopped me" She said a hint of challenge in her voice.

"I could have and I would have" He replied looking down at her earnestly.

"I wouldn't have let you" Erin insisted.

"You wouldn't have been able to stop me" He countered.

"Sure" She said shaking her head.

"Look, I don't care. It's done, just promise me you'll be more careful" He said dismissing the argument as swiftly as he had started it.

"I promise. No more undercover work" Erin agreed allowing him to hug her tightly.

"How about no more work?" He joked.

"Only if you stop working too!" She suggested knowing it was a ridiculous notion.

"You better keep working then" Kelly said before kissing the top of her head.

"I better get some sleep then" She said finishing getting changed. They brushed their teeth then settled into bed together.

"I'll try not to snore" He laughed.

"I have a perfectly fine couch if you do" She threatened snuggling so that she could hear his heart thudding in his chest.

"I missed this" He said after a few moments silence.

"Me too" She agreed before falling asleep. That night he held her even closer struggling to sleep knowing that he'd been so close to losing everything and hadn't even known it. Shay was dead and there was nothing he could do but be thankful for every day, making the most of the time she didn't have.

**When you guys worry about me being mean to Erin and Kelly you have to keep in mind that I love them as much as you do! The reason I'm writing this is because I'm not happy with the show :D I love that there are new readers and followers every day and the reviews truly do make me write faster. I am so glad people keep coming back day after day…with that said I'll see you tomorrow!**


	16. Chapter 16

Erin stretched and yawned as she woke then rolled to find the other side of the bed vacant. She screwed up her face and stretched out enjoying the extra space. Tired from the stress of the last week it didn't take long for her to fall back to sleep. When she woke for the second time Kelly stood at the end of the bed, breakfast tray in hand.

"I made food" Kelly said loving the smile that spread across her face.

"Yummy" She replied, her voice extra husky. He placed the tray on the empty side of the bed then sat on the edge next to her.

"Good morning" He whispered before leaning down to kiss her.

"Morning" Erin replied as he sat up again. She sat up as well, looking over at the plate of pancakes longingly.

"What do you want on them?" He asked following her gaze.

"Peanut butter. I don't even like peanuts, and I don't own any" She declared looking perplexed.

"You don't normally like peanuts?" Kelly questioned narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"No, I hate them. I don't even know why I want peanut butter" She said feeling bad to ruin his thoughtfulness by demanding more.

"Craving?" He asked unable to stop himself smiling.

"Must be" She agreed after thinking for a moment, there was no other explanation for the random urge to consume peanuts.

"I'll be right back" Kelly said with a wink. It took Erin a moment to realise he was serious. Her front door closed and she realised what he was doing, he was going to buy peanut butter. It was ridiculous that he was running off to indulge her impulses. She flopped back to the bed laughing, hysterically. It took a moment for her laughter to turn to tears as she reflected on just how lucky she was. She'd barely gotten a grip on herself when he appeared, jar of peanut butter in hand. "Erin" He said freezing mid stride when he noticed the streaks down her face.

"I'm fine" She said rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He insisted still frozen in place.

"Nothing, I'm just being silly" Erin responded feeling pathetic.

"No you aren't" He said moving to sit in front of her.

"I just realised how lucky I am to have you" She said laughing to try and brush it off.

"Lucky. To have me? Are you kidding? I'm the lucky one" He said laughing as he pulled her into his arms. He held her tight for a moment then released her, pleased to see the smile returning. She took the jar of peanut butter from his hand and twisted open the lid, feeling like a child she sank her finger into the nutty goodness before shoving it in her mouth.

"Mmm" She said, it had been a long time since anything had tasted that good.

"Share" Kelly said demanding the jar, she dipped her finger once more before handing it to him. He picked up a pancake, slathered on peanut butter then rolled it up and gave it to her. She accepted gratefully taking a massive bite. He pulled a face, she struggled not to laugh with her mouth full. He made himself a pancake then pulled a face.

"What?" She asked in response to his expression.

"This is weird" He said handing her his pancake.

"It's amazing" She said finishing her first and starting the one that had been his. Meanwhile he spread strawberry jam on one and enjoyed the sickly sweetness. She had just started her third when someone knocked on her door. "Stay here" she instructed going to investigate. Erin opened the door to find her partner looking very confused.

"Planning on coming to work today?" Halstead asked raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Oh! Damn" Erin said realising she had been too caught up with Kelly and breakfast to realise it wasn't even the weekend.

"Hurry up" Halstead directed wondering why she was still standing there.

"I'll be five seconds" She said before shutting the door in his face. "Just because you don't have work today doesn't mean I don't" She exclaimed as she made her way to the closet. She pulled on some clothes then rushed to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

"Sorry" Kelly apologised as she made her way back through the bedroom.

"Thank you" Erin said pausing for a moment.

"Have a nice day. Stay safe!" He called as she dashed for the door.

"Ready" She confirmed making her way out into the hall. Halstead looked less concerned but still confused.

"Lucky I volunteered! Voight isn't happy" He informed leading her down the stairs.

"Argh" Erin groaned, her day had gone from amazing to terrible in no time. How could she have forgotten work? That never happened. Then it hit her, she'd never had anything more important than work to distract her.

"So the fireman's back?" He asked smugly getting in the passenger seat, she still wouldn't let him drive.

"Yes" She said though it really wasn't any of his business. As soon as she arrived at the district Voight called her into his office.

"What is going on with you?" He demanded as soon as the door was closed.

"Nothing" She replied.

"Really? Because it doesn't seem like nothing!" Voight barked, if she hadn't lived with him for years she might have been worried.

"I've had some stuff going on, it's all sorted now" She guaranteed. 

"Good, get to work" He instructed taking a seat behind his desk.

"I'm sorry" She added, though she didn't feel the need to apologise she knew it would end the conversation positively. Doing as she was instructed she got to work reviewing CCTV footage for a known drug dealer who had disappeared after the death of his top smuggler. She let the events of the morning take second priority as she focused on the task at hand.

"Your fireman's downstairs" Halstead said curtly upon his return from his lunch break, Lindsay had decided to work through lunch to make up for her forgetfulness. He handed her the hot chocolate he had bought her then settled in behind his desk. His odd behaviour didn't get past her but she ignored it temporarily, he was probably just worried.

"He's not my fireman" She replied for the benefit of the rest of the team. Then she made her way downstairs to see what he wanted.

"Hey" Kelly greeted as she approached.

"Hey" She replied trying to figure out why he was there.

"I got you a present" He said putting his hand in his pocket, he pulled out a bag of miniature peanut butter cups. She couldn't help but grin.

"Thank you" Erin said taking the bag.

"Have a nice day" He said not wanting to keep her from important police work.

"You too" She answered looking around carefully, content nobody was watching she gave him a quick kiss. Then she watched him leave, letting out a happy sigh before turning to head back up the stairs.

"Don't think I didn't see that" Sergeant Platt said appearing from nowhere behind the desk.

"Don't tell Voight" Erin said opening the bag and placing one of the treats on the desk in front of Platt.

"It's going to take more than that to buy my silence" Platt replied rolling the lone chocolate between her fingers. Erin tipped the packet onto the desk, emptying it halfway before turning and making her way up the stairs.

**So I had a really crappy day at work yesterday…I'm working as swim instructor for the summer and I had two little girls vomit on me (I just don't understand! Why me? It was disgusting)…Anyway writing this cheered me up so I hope it does the same for you! It wasn't what I had planned for this chapter but I'll just use that tomorrow :D If you're one of those strange people who call it peanut paste instead of peanut butter I'm sorry…My home town is the largest producer of peanuts in Australia and we call it peanut butter! I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and will forever be indebted to my American exchange student friend for introducing me! I feel like this was a bit of an overshare…Oops! **


	17. Chapter 17

"This shirt makes it obvious doesn't it?" Erin asked looking at herself side on in the mirror. Kelly knew he had to be very careful about how to respond.

"It looks fine, it's barely noticeable" He said cautiously.

"Barely isn't good enough" Erin said taking off the shirt and selecting another.

"They aren't going to notice" He said wondering why she was suddenly so concerned. On closer inspection he did notice that the tiny bump had grown slightly, he knew better than to comment.

"They're detectives! It's their job to notice" She argued discarding a third shirt. Finally settling on a loose black button down.

"You wouldn't have to worry if you told them" He reminded. With an exasperated sigh she left the room.

"I will. Soon" She said determinedly.

"Have a nice day" Kelly replied kissing the top of her head before gathering his things and leaving for work. Erin followed a few minutes later eager to get to work on time.

A week later when she still hadn't told Voight or the rest of the intelligence unit Kelly started to lose his patience.

"Why don't you just tell them?" He asked after trying to convince her that the shirt she had selected was fine.

"I will, when I'm ready!" Erin snapped, he had no idea why it was such a sensitive subject.

"What are you worried about?" Kelly asked sounding especially supportive.

"I don't know...It's stupid" She answered her tough exterior fading away.

"What is?" He probed.

"I don't care about the rest of the unit, just Voight" Erin said. Kelly didn't know how to respond, he didn't know the gruff detective well enough to judge how he would react. "I don't want him to be disappointed" She admitted looking scared.

"Why would he be disappointed?" He asked, outraged that Erin was so concerned.

"Kelly, he saved me. He made me who I am today, my career and everything" She explained sounding vulnerable.

"You made you who you are today, he might have helped but you did the work" He enforced. "Having a baby isn't going to ruin your career either, plenty of women have babies then go back to work."

"I guess" She said, to busy picturing Voight's reaction to see the logic.

"You don't have to tell him until you're ready" Kelly said effectively ending the discussion. He made her breakfast then sent her on her way to work.

The intelligence unit were on the hunt for a hit and run driver who had sped through a zebra crossing killing a six year old girl. The media had gone crazy and Commander Fisher had every spare unit working the case. So far intelligence had located the car involved but were still searching for the driver. What made things more interesting was the discovery of twenty thousand dollars in cash on the backseat of the car.

"It doesn't make any sense to leave that behind" Halstead commented.

"Unless he has more somewhere else" Lindsay suggested in response.

"Maybe" He agreed, there was nothing more they could do with the car, a team had already been through to collect finger prints. As soon as they had an ID they'd be able to track him down properly.

"Let's see if we can track the serial numbers from money, it all looks brand new" Lindsay said leading the way back to the car. Sure enough the money was only a small portion stolen from a bank interstate. The investigation of the bank robbery was hopeless so the unit pinned their hopes on the finger prints. While they waited they tried to get their witness to look through more mug shots but the old man was too frazzled to be much use.

"Not only do we have a name, we have an address" Voight announced after lunch. He stuck the photo to the white board then wrote up the driver's name, Daniel Henshaw. Of course he wasn't at his registered address but a nosy neighbour was able to tell them his uncle's address. The team seized the opportunity, given they were already suited up.

"You sure about this?" Halstead asked as stood with Lindsay at the uncle's back door.

"I'll be fine" She replied waiting for Voight's radio call to spur them to action.

"I can go first" He suggested trying to push in front.

"I'm fine" Lindsay snapped shoving him back roughly.

"Okay then" He resigned just as Voight's voice crackled over the radio. They were through the door in seconds, guns raised, ready to face anything. Clearing room after room, they yelled as they searched demanding Henshaw show himself. Halstead and Lindsay met up with the rest of the team in the hall to find that they had apprehended the uncle. He confirmed Henshaw was in the house. Voight ordered Halstead and Lindsay upstairs while Antonio and Atwater headed into the basement. Lindsay didn't hesitate to scale the stairs, closely followed by an anxious Halstead. The look on his face when she suggested they split up was far from impressed but he did so anyway, despite the bad feeling he had had all day.

"Daniel, we know you're here" Lindsay called out as she approached the open bedroom door, no response. She checked the room thoroughly before moving to the next one. This time when she wrenched the closet door open she was faced by Henshaw, large knife in one hand. "Put it down" She instructed authoritatively taking a few steps back regardless of the weapon in her hands.

"It wasn't my fault!" The young man shouted waving the knife angrily.

"Put it down" Lindsay said again just as Halstead arrived at the door. A moment later Daniel Henshaw lay on the floor bleeding from a bullet wound to the chest. Lindsay kicked the knife from his hand before bending to apply pressure to the wound. "What did you do that for?" She asked Halstead, rage evident in her tone.

"He was threatening you" Halstead said weakly starting to question his decision to pull the trigger.

"Get an ambulance" She instructed knowing now was not the time for situation analysis. Voight and the rest of the team had arrived but Henshaw had already lost consciousness. The bullet must have hit a major blood vessel as the tiny bullet hole bled profusely. The paramedics arrived and got straight to work, their faces grim as they loaded the young man into the ambulance.

"Halstead, Lindsay, my office now!" Voight demanded when they arrived back at the district. "Care to explain why Henshaw is fighting for his life?" He asked as they obediently entered his office.

"He was threatening Erin with the knife" Halstead said, referring to his partner by her first name was his first mistake.

"I was fine, I could have talked him down" Lindsay said before wondering if she should be more supportive of her partner, he'd been trying to help.

"Do you not trust her?" Voight asked Halstead, deadly serious.

"Of course" Halstead answered, hesitating was his second mistake.

"Then why did you shoot? It's a last resort response and she had started negotiating" Voight questioned, Lindsay was surprised by his approach. Usually he would yell until they couldn't make eye contact then dismiss them to think about their actions.

"I don't know" Halstead lied giving Lindsay an urging look. Voight raised his eyebrows demanding an explanation from Lindsay.

"He wasn't there long enough to assess the situation properly" Lindsay said eyeing Halstead frustrated.

"Why didn't you wait?" Voight asked, he been suspicious of the pair for the last few weeks and wasn't going to let it go until he knew everything.

"I was worried for her safety" Halstead answere, Lindsay groaned.

"Why would you be worried?" Voight probed knowing the young man had feelings for Lindsay. Now he just needed to know if he had acted on them, then Halstead would be off the team and things could return to normal. Voight watched intently as the pair battled with looks. The silence dragged on, Lindsay getting more and more agitated.

"Because she's pregnant" Halstead answered. Mistake number three.

**To Be Continued…**

**I try to refer to the intelligence team members by their last names but when it comes to Antonio I am so used to Dawson being Gabby that it seems weird to call him Dawson as well. I hope it isn't confusing. So now Voight knows…How will he react? High five to Stagediva23 who totally guessed Halstead would be the one to tell Voight :D **


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm sorry for the delay but I had a very interesting afternoon! A real life Chicago Fire experience as I was the first person on scene following a car crash on my street. Everyone involved will survive, it was truly amazing to see the emergency services at work. **

"What?" Voight managed despite the disbelief.

"Hank" Erin said struggling keeping her voice even. She wasn't sure if she felt more dread or anger. Before she could say any more there was a knock on the door and Antonio poked his head in.

"Henshaw died" Antonio informed, shutting the door again quickly, he could tell from Voight's face that hanging around would be a bad idea.

"I thought I made myself clear" Voight began before changing tactics "get out" he ordered. Halstead gave Erin an apologetic look then did as he was told.

"I'm sorry" Erin mumbled, memories of high school flooding back. The group of girls who bullied her had accused her of copying their work in an exam. The teacher, who knew about her past, hadn't even needed proof. Erin had been left to tell Voight that she had failed the subject.

"You should have told me" He said coming to terms with the shock announcement.

"I was planning on it" She answered her mind wandering as she thought on how best to punish her partner for his indiscretion.

"I should have known I couldn't trust him" Voight said, they were both more focused on Halstead than the person standing right before them.

"No! The baby isn't his!" Erin said finally catching on to what Voight was saying.

"Then who?" Voight asked both relieved and uncertain, he had no idea Erin had been dating someone.

"Kelly Severide, the fireman" Erin answered, stunned that her father figure thought that little of her.

"I'm sorry" He said knowing he should have more faith in her. "Congratulations" He added after pausing to think for a moment.

"Thank you" She said, it wasn't what she had planned but his reaction wasn't what she had expected either.

"How long have you been...were you pregnant when I sent you undercover?" He demanded suddenly understanding the implications of the news.

"Yes" She answered, her voice barely audible. This was the part she had really been dreading.

"Erin" He scolded knowing it was enough, she already knew she had done the wrong thing.

"If I told you we'd never have caught Tiburon" She justified finding confidence in her work.

"You got shot!" He said outraged that she would try to rationalise putting herself and the baby in harms way.

"I know, I was stupid. I won't do it again" She said.

"You won't be able to from behind your desk" He said watching her face fall.

"Hank, I'm pregnant not injured" Erin argued though she knew it was pointless.

"Halstead shot and killed a man to protect you" Voight reminded. "He'll be under investigation"

"It wasn't like the Tiburon situation, I had things under control" She said still too frustrated about Halstead telling Voight to worry that he'd put his career in jeopardy.

"Go home and get some rest, we'll talk about this another time" Voight said.

"I'm fine. I still have a report to write" She said before stomping out of his office. Halstead was long gone but the rest of the team looked intrigued. Erin didn't indulge them instead getting to work on the report. It probably wasn't a good idea to write it when she was still mad at Halstead but she didn't want Hank to win. The rest of the team turned in their reports and left for Molly's. Erin typed away until she was satisfied with the report then took it in to Voight.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you put the baby at risk" He said knowing that she had kept the pregnancy from him for a reason. She loved her job as much as he loved his, it was completely understandable that she'd put off telling for as long as possible.

"I don't want to put it at risk, I just want to do my job" She explained, it sometimes worried her just how attached she was to the grey blur that was her baby.

"I know. You'll still be doing your job, just in a safer way" He said trying to comfort her.

"You can't just forget he said anything?" She joked hopefully.

"No I won't. When do I get to meet Severide?" He asked very quickly undoing her work to lighten the mood.

"Whenever you want" Erin said confidently trying not to think of it as introducing her boyfriend to her dad.

"Sometime this weekend, I'll figure something out" He guaranteed loving the way she went from vulnerable to tough in seconds.

"He's on shift on Sunday" Erin informed looking forward to telling Kelly that he'd finally be facing Voight.

"Saturday then, lunch, I'll book" He answered, it was about time he got involved in her life again. He'd been too caught up in his on life or he would have noticed the changes in her behaviour and come to a conclusion much sooner.

"Sounds good, I'm going home now" Erin said noticing the time, she was supposed to be making dinner.

"Alright, see you tomorrow" He said with a smile, his tiny, broken family was growing.

"Okay" She said before making her way home. She put Halstead out of her mind for the evening, she'd have enough time to worry about it tomorrow. For the first time in weeks she felt truly calm, she didn't realise how much keeping the baby a secret had been weighing on her.

"How was your day?" Kelly asked looking up from the television as she arrived.

"Well Halstead killed a man to protect me then told Voight about the baby...I guess you could call it interesting" She said loving the look of alarm that spread across his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked after pausing to process her answer.

"I'm fine. I'm kinda glad Voight knows" She admitted shoving thoughts of Halstead back again.

"I'll make dinner" Kelly said getting up, he gave her a quick hug, relieved that she was safe and that Voight knew. Then he made his way to the kitchen.

"Thank you" Erin said taking a moment to appreciate how lucky she was. They ate peacefully then watched some television, paying more attention to each other than the program.

"I'm glad you're okay" He said brushing the hair away from her eyes.

"It's not as if you do a safe job" She commented knowing she often worried about him when he was on shift.

"I'm not growing our baby" He answered.

"True, Hank won't be letting me out of his sight from now on so you don't have to worry any more" Erin said trying to sound positive despite the fact she was still struggling to accept limited duties.

"Good" Kelly said kissing her gently before turning off the television and heading to the bathroom. Laying in bed with Kelly holding her tightly Erin remembered the discussion she had had with Hank.

"I forgot to tell you, we're having lunch with Hank on Saturday" She said. It took a moment to sink in but the feeling of panic grew as Kelly realised he'd have to face the terrifying older man. It clearly didn't faze Erin as she drifted to sleep easily, he struggled to do the same feeling more scared than he had before picking up his prom date.

**I hope you liked this. Hopefully I'll be able to write more over the weekend to make up for the last few chapters being so short! Reviews make me write faster... ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter 0-o **

Erin tried to stay in bed as long as possible, while she had pushed it away the night before she could no longer ignore the Halstead situation. At the time she had wanted to kill him, or at the very least punch him but now that she had been given time to think on it the anger had dissipated. It was still completely wrong of him and she would need to make sure that he knew it. Deciding to figure out how to deal with it when the time came she rolled to look at Kelly, he was still asleep. Erin had muted the alarm before it had sounded but now she needed to wake him or they'd both be late for work. She tried running a hand across his chest but it had no effect so she leaned down and kissed him. When she pulled back his bright blue eyes were open.

"Morning" She whispered as he fought to keep his eyes open.

"Morning" He replied looking dazed, it had taken him so long to get to sleep that he required a few more hours to recharge properly. Watching him stretch and yawn made her smile.

"You don't look like you got much sleep" She commented.

"I got plenty" He assured before sitting up and pulling her closer for a kiss.

"We should get ready" She said when he finally released her.

"Should" He said kissing her once more then racing to the shower.

"That's not fair" She yelled after him but it was too late. Erin got up and ate breakfast, laid out her clothes then finally gained access to the shower.

"You sure about that?" He asked looking at her clothing selection critically.

"Voight knows, everyone may as well know" She answered looking down at the shirt, only people who knew her would notice the change.

"Okay" Kelly agreed. They walked down the stairs together then said goodbye and went their separate ways.

Erin arrived at work hung her jacket on the back of her chair and sat down. She could see Voight working away in his office but nobody else had arrived yet. She got to work reading through her emails, checking up on a CI, the usual. By the time she got up to go to the printer she had completely forgotten about the shirt.

"What is that?" Ruzek asked, ever observant.

"That?" She replied placing her hand over the baby, she knew he didn't have a tactful bone in his body. By now Antonio, Atwater, Olinsky and Nadia were staring as well.

"Are you?" Antonio asked gently.

"I am" She confirmed loving their individual reactions, Oliski raised his eyebrows but didn't really seem interested, Antonio looked more excited than she had been expecting, Nadia and Atwater both looked somewhat confused.

"Congratulations" Antonio said thankful for even a little happy news in his increasingly frustrating family life.

"Thanks" She said with a smile, at least one person seemed happy about the revelation. Halstead arrived before she had the chance to collect her printing. "We need to talk" She announced as soon as he got to his desk, the rest of the team noticed and jumped to the same conclusion Voight had. As she led Halstead down the back stairs she could hear Olinsky comment.

"That's not going to end well" The older detective said shaking his head.

"Erin, I'm sorry" He said as soon as they were out on the street. She regretted not bringing her jacket.

"Good" She replied.

"I shouldn't have said anything but..." He said.

"But?" She interrupted "There is no but! You should have kept your mouth shut and let me tell him when I was ready"

"I know" He agreed knowing arguing that he was trying to justify his use of deadly force wouldn't help the situation.

"What are you going to do about the Henshaw situation" Lindsay asked turning the conversation back to work.

"I don't know, I'm under investigation again but this time I actually did it" He said concern evident.

"But you did it for the right reasons, pregnant or not you were trying to protect me" She said regretting how harsh she had been in her report, she needed to see if Voight still had it so she could change it. Being under investigation, not allowed to work, was punishment enough as far as she was concerned.

"I was worried you'd say I'd used excessive force" He said not knowing how desperately she wanted to run up the stairs and demand her report back.

"It'll all turn out fine" She said leading him back upstairs. Commander Fisher was in Voight's office so she allowed herself to panic momentarily. When the Commander emerged to take Halstead's badge and side arm she snuck into the office and retrieved her report feeling especially pleased with herself. She got straight to work making amendments, it was still the truth just slightly less damning.

"Change your mind?" Voight asked when she tried to place the report back on the desk without him noticing.

"Maybe" She answered still mystified that he was always one step ahead.

"Good, you were a little harsh" He said, she had no idea that he'd specifically held back her report after reading it.

"I know" Lindsay admitted feeling childish.

"You've got a visitor" He said pointing through his window, Kelly stood at the top of the stairs looking hopeful. She didn't have a chance to respond as she rushed out to greet him dragging him rather forcefully back downstairs.

"What are you doing here?" She asked trying not to sound too displeased.

"We were driving past. I just wanted to make sure you were alright" He said wondering if he had done the wrong thing.

"I'm fine, thank you" Erin said with a smile and a hug. "Get back to work" She said pushing him away.

"Bye" He called over his shoulder as he left the building. Erin turned on the spot and was struck by a look that she hadn't been expecting. She had always had a silent agreement with Platt, they stayed out of each others business. After the momentary look of shock and horror a massive smile spread across the desk Sergeants face.

"Congratulations detective" Platt said with a wink, Lindsay smiled back then headed upstairs unaware that Kelly's visit had corrected the paternity of the baby in the minds of the other team members.

The lunch on Saturday approached much faster than Kelly would have liked. Now he was the one fussing over what to wear. Erin wore jeans and a tight red long sleeved shirt that showed off the growing bump. All he wanted to do was make a good first impression, prove to Voight that he was worthy. Erin had noticed Kelly's struggle but tried to stay out of it finding it fascinating to observe how he operated under pressure.

"You ready yet?" She asked seeing that he had changed back into a T-shirt. She was glad, Kelly in a business shirt looked out of place.

"I think so" He said, swallowing before committing and following Erin to the car. He had come to terms with her need to drive, attributing it to her controlling nature.

"We're a little early" Erin commented parking right out the front of the small family restaurant.

"I'm sorry, I just want him to like me" Kelly replied, he had been too focused on himself to even hear what she had said.

"I like you and that's all that matters so calm down" She advised seeing Voight's car turn into the car park.

"Okay" He said following her out of the car. They met with Voight at the front door.

"I know we've already met but this is different" Voight said extending his hand. Kelly took it and shook it firmly, so far, so good.

"Lets go in" Erin said watching with interest as her father figure inspected the father of her baby. The trio headed into the restaurant and were seated at a small table in the corner, Voight sat opposite Kelly. The silence grew but Erin hesitated, she couldn't fix all their problems for them.

"I'm glad you know, I've been worried about her" Kelly said, though he didn't really know why.

"Good, she does a dangerous job. So do you" Voight responded.

"I try to be careful but my job is important" Kelly answered.

"The one piece of advice I have for you when it comes to being a father is to remember that the kid always comes before your work" Voight said, Erin knew he was referring to the strained relationship he had with Justin.

"I'll do my best" Kelly confirmed.

"You'd better" Voight insisted. Erin gave Voight a look then took Kelly's hand, she had full confidence he would be a good father. "I still can't believe I didn't realise something was up" Voight said after a moments pause, successfully lightening the mood.

"I've had a fair bit of practice hiding things from you" Erin said challengingly.

"Really? I'm pretty sure I let you think I didn't know what you were up to" Hank said with a chuckle.

"Sure" Erin said though she was starting to doubt herself.

"So Kelly, what do you do when you aren't working?" Voight asked not wanting to embarrass Erin with his extensive knowledge of her 'secrets'.

"I teach at the Academy, I have a boat I'm fixing up but I haven't had much time recently and it's starting to get to cold again, nothing very interesting" Kelly explained feeling much more comfortable.

"What are your hobbies Mr Work-is-Everything?" Erin quizzed playfully.

"I..." Voight started, he honestly couldn't think of anything, his life revolved around his work and the rest of the time he spent eating, drinking or sleeping. "What about you?" He retorted knowing she was the same.

"We watch movies and go for walks in the park" She suggested weakly.

"We do" Kelly corroborated. They continued talking after they ordered and during the meal. Kelly was shocked to find that he could relate to Voight, he'd only heard one side of the story when it came the Voight and Casey's situation, none of it good. Hank questioned them on preparedness for the baby and laughed when they fell flat, they were going to learn a lot when the baby arrived.

"Where are you planning on living?" Voight asked unable to pass up the opportunity to challenge them.

"I assumed we were going to stay at my place" Erin said turning to look at Kelly for confirmation.

"Yeah, I should probably move out my old apartment" Kelly said though the thought brought back memories of Shay.

"You only have one bedroom" Hank reminded.

"The baby can sleep in my room for the first year or so, can't it?" She asked feeling like she knew nothing about babies.

"Our room" Kelly corrected enthusiastically.

"It's up to you" Hank answered loving their clueless looks. It wasn't as if he had any authority on the topic, he'd barely had anything to do with Justin until he could walk and talk.

"We'll figure it out" Erin said adding it to the list of things they needed to discuss. She placed her hand over the baby feeling a strange fluttery sensation, the baby was moving, she tried to ignore it but couldn't help but smile.

"You okay?" Kelly asked noticing the change in her behaviour.

"I'm fine" She assured, it was impossible to describe the feeling and she didn't want him feeling left out. It was mid afternoon by the time they decided to leave the restaurant. Hank felt confident that Kelly was committed to Erin and the baby. When Kelly and Erin arrived at her apartment they discussed living arrangements and came to the conclusion that Kelly would move in. He was practically living there already. Erin managed to convince him that putting off getting his stuff wasn't going to help. They resolved to spend the next day officially moving him into her apartment, that meant moving the last of Shay's stuff out of the apartment too, a task Kelly had been dreading.

They slept late enjoying the fact that they didn't have to rush to work. When they did get up they ate quietly then got dressed ready for the day. Erin could physically see Kelly getting more and more anxious about going to his apartment. She drove. They sat in the car for a few minutes before he decided to get out. Erin held his hand as they entered the apartment. She knew that he was remembering Shay, in the kitchen, on the sofa, running up the stairs, filling the house with laughter or dreadful music. It was cold and felt empty without her presence. They didn't waste time standing around instead heading to Shay's room to start packing, her family hadn't touched the place even though Kelly had given them a key.

"Best get on with it" Kelly said looking determined as he slid open the closet door.

"Where do we even start?" Erin asked looking at all the clothes.

"I don't know, I'll get some boxes" He said leaving the room momentarily. He returned with boxes and together they started folding and sorting clothes into them.

They had a break for lunch then got back to work. Kelly still working on the clothes while Erin wrapped the ornaments on the bookshelf in newspaper. Erin paused, the sound of sobbing grew louder and she turned. Kelly had been sorting through Shay's clothes but now sat slumped against the bed, head bowed, in tears. Rather than speaking she got up and crossed the room taking a seat beside him. He stopped for a moment to hand her the garment he held. She inspected it carefully, it was a tiny pink onesie, the right size for a newborn baby.

"Sorry" He said sniffing loudly.

"Don't be"' She said doing her best to hug him from her position beside him. Seeing the Target bag the onesie had come from Erin did what had become second nature and got up to investigate. Pulling the receipt out she expected to see the date from at least a year ago, when she and Kelly had tried to have a baby. The date on the receipt was from the day before she died.

"You didn't tell her?" Erin asked ready to share her findings.

"I never got the chance" He answered looking up at her, the pain obvious in his eyes.

"She must have guessed then" She said handing him the receipt. Showing him the date she expected him to cheer up but instead he pulled her into a hug, crying against her shoulder. Eventually he calmed down and released her holding the onesie possessively in one hand.

"I miss her" He admitted pulling himself up onto Shay's bed.

"I know" Erin said trying to be supportive. She didn't know how to handle her own emotions half the time so it was difficult to know how to help him. Sitting next to him on the bed she held his hand hoping that her presence alone would be enough.

"I love you" He said sitting up to look at her seriously. She froze, could she really say it back? He didn't wait for an answer instead he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. She kissed back feeling all the problems fade from her mind. They got carried away alternating kisses with long, loving looks that conveyed more than words ever could. She ran her hand up the back of his shirt the desire for skin to skin contact growing by the second. Soon neither wore a shirt, chests pressed together as they kissed again. The spark they felt became a fire, burning as they sought as much of the other as they could get. Kelly picked her up and carried her to his own room.

"I love you too" Erin whispered breathlessly.

**Use your imagination...I'm rubbish at writing this type of thing but I'm sure you get the picture... ;) It is really hard to write scenes with Voight so feel free to let me know if you think I portrayed him as too nice and I'll work on it in the future. I feel like the term onesie gets thrown around a fair bit these days and I don't have much experience with baby clothing terminology, I'm picturing the little body suits that have short sleeves and no legs ****not**** the footed variety with long sleeves. Let me know if there's a better word for that! What do we think regards Shay's guess for the gender of the baby? I have already decided on its gender and name but I'd love to hear any opinions :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**Okay so this is a mega chapter because I really wanted have the 20 week ultrasound in chapter 20...Bit weird I know! Enjoy :D**

A week later Erin had managed to bypass Voight and was on the hunt for a low level gang member with Halstead. The investigation over Henshaw's death was over and Halstead had been cleared of any wrongdoing, the spotlight was still on him though so he was on his best behaviour. They arrived at the address from an anonymous tip off and had a quick look around the outside of the house. Lindsay stood at the front door and yelled "Police open up" while Halstead stood at the back door ready to catch the suspect as he ran. Run he did, straight into Halstead with such force that they both fell down the back stairs. By the time Halstead got up the suspect was halfway up the back fence. He radioed for Lindsay to get the car while beginning the chase on foot. Five minutes later they stood at the base of a very large tree, their suspect was about halfway up, clinging to the trunk.

"What do we do now?" Halstead asked, still catching his breath after the long run through the neighbourhood.

"I don't know, we could negotiate" Lindsay suggested taking a few steps back so she could see the suspect properly. "Can you please come down?" She yelled, it was never going to work.

"NO!" The suspect shouted back.

"I'll shoot!" She yelled back to no avail.

"Will you?" Halstead asked her softly.

"Yeah, just a few shots into the tree should scare him down" Lindsay replied eager to get the situation sorted quickly so they could get back to the district before Voight.

"If you think so" Halstead agreed.

"If you don't come down I'm going to shoot" Lindsay yelled up the tree, the suspect didn't move a muscle. She drew her gun and let of three shot, they hit the tree trunk just below the suspect.

"I can't move! I'll fall" The suspect yelled sounding terrified.

"You can't stay up there forever" Lindsay yelled back before turning to Halstead.

"What next?" He asked looking slightly concerned.

"I'll call Kelly, he'll be able to help" Lindsay said knowing it was a last resort, Voights meeting would be over in half an hour and if she wasn't behind her desk when it finished all hell would break loose.

"Good idea" Halstead said keeping his eyes on the suspect while Lindsay moved away to make the call.

"Hey" She said when the phone connected.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, she'd never called him at work before and he couldn't help but worry.

"I need some help, I have a suspect who climbed a tree to evade us. He won't come down, I've tried shooting at him" Lindsay explained, all she could hear in response was laughter.

"Text me the address" Kelly managed when he stopped laughing, that she resorted to calling him when shooting didn't work was quite amusing.

"Okay, thanks" She replied before hanging up, she sent the address then stood with Halstead to wait. She was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the Squad Truck arrived.

"Detective" Kelly greeted approaching the pair, his men watched intently.

"Kelly" Lindsay replied pointing to the suspect in the tree. "As quick as you can" She added.

"What's the rush?" He asked looking suspicious.

"Voight doesn't know I'm here" She admitted watching him raise his eyebrows in response.

"I'll do my best" He said with a wink leaving the pair of detectives to brief his men. They got to work straight away securing lines in the tree and getting ready to climb, secure, then lower the suspect. "He isn't armed is he?" Kelly checked.

"I don't think so, but be careful" She insisted.

"I'm always careful" He answered before hooking up his harness and beginning to scale the tree. Arriving at the same level as the suspect he took a moment to talk with the kid, once he'd calmed him down he slipped a harness onto him and lowered him down. Lindsay and Halstead were waiting at the bottom and arrested him as soon as he touched the ground. Halstead led him over to the car while Lindsay thanked the rescue squad. She made it back to her desk just as Voight arrived.

At the end of the day Erin decided she hadn't been grateful enough for the way Squad 3 had saved her from Voights wrath so she arrived at firehouse 51 with doughnuts. She was welcomed into the kitchen and found Kelly playing cards with his squad.

"I just wanted to say thank you again" She said depositing the gift on the table.

"Lieutenant?" Mouch asked looking hopefully at the doughnuts.

"Go for it" Kelly replied, the truck team had covered for them so they deserved thanks as much as squad. "How was Voight?" Kelly asked standing back with Erin as the hoard descended.

"Doesn't have a clue" She answered looking up at him with a grin.

"I don't mind you going out once in a while but be careful okay" He said smiling back.

"Of course" She agreed turning to see one of Kelly's men staring at her. "Whose the one by the coffee?" She asked trying not to be obvious.

"Newhouse, why?" Kelly responded looking across the room.

"He's watching me" She said.

"Well you are beautiful" He said sliding an arm around her waist. Erin didn't bother to reply, instead she stood and smiled. She felt like she was the only guest at a dinner party, everyone else knew each other.

"Bathroom?" She asked after a few moments.

"Straight down the hall" Kelly answered pointing as he spoke. As soon as she was out of earshot they pounced.

"What's going on there Lieutenant?" Newhouse asked.

"What do you mean?" Kelly replied being evasive.

"She's pregnant" Newhouse answered.

"And?" Kelly questioned though the impromptu doughnut party had come to a halt.

"And?" Newhouse said. Erin walked back into the room confused as to why everyone was suddenly looking at her, she moved to Kelly's side. No one spoke or looked away, she might be a well trained detective but she had no idea what was going on.

"Should I tell them?" Kelly asked looking down at her.

"Yes" She replied finally understanding what was happening.

"Erin and I are having a baby" He announced. Erin was surprised by how excited everyone was, there were cheers and hugs all around. Kelly kept her close knowing how overwhelming the situation must be. It wasn't long before the betting began, gender, weight, due date, anything to do with the baby. "You okay?" He asked when everyone started to quiet down.

"Yeah. They're all so nice!" She commented remembering the intelligence units reactions, there had been no cheering or hugging.

"Don't be fooled" He said with a laugh.

"I'll talk to Cindy but we have a bunch of baby stuff we won't be needing again" Herrmann said approaching the couple.

"Okay, you're right" Kelly whispered to Erin before thanking Herrmann, the pair started talking while Erin stood trying to take in the whole situation. She had intended to drop off the doughnuts then head home. This was better. Erin joined the conversation with Herrmann before Dawson came over to congratulate them, mentioning that Shay would be very happy for them. Kelly seemed pleased to know that Shay still had a voice.

"Did you get next Thursday off?" Erin asked in the car on the way home.

"Yep, and we've been invited to Kenny's birthday party next Friday afternoon" Kelly replied.

"Kenny?" She questioned feeling lost after meeting so many new people.

"Herrmann's kid, my godson, it's his first birthday" He explained.

"Could be fun" She said uncertainly.

"Watching a one year old eat cake, it'll be fun" He assured.

Less than a week later Erin had just sat down at her desk when Kelly called, time to return the favour. A baby had been safe dropped at the firehouse and he wanted the intelligence unit to help track down the mother.

"I'll check with Voight then come over" She answered before hanging up. Voight was slightly confused as to why intelligence were getting involved when it was a department of child and family services case but had nothing better for Lindsay and Halstead to do so he let them go.

"How are we going to find the mother?" Halstead asked as they drove.

"I don't know, security footage, hospital records. She'll be in the system somewhere, we just have to find her" Lindsay answered.

"Why? She clearly doesn't want the baby" He questioned.

"I don't know, it seems like the right thing to do" She said though she realised he was right, deep down she needed to make sure the mother was certain.

"Okay" Halstead answered, momentarily satisfied that their motive was good. They arrived at the firehouse and easily located the infant. Kelly held the tiny baby protectively while Dawson and Brett fussed over it. Erin was surprised by how perfect Kelly looked with a baby in his arms.

"Hey" She said as she approached the group.

"Hey" He replied wondering if she was looking forward to the day it was their baby in his arms as much as he was.

"What do we know so far?" She asked moving quickly to business.

"Not much, it's a boy, less than a week old, doesn't have any obvious birthmarks" Kelly answered shifting the blanket away from the baby's face so she could get a better look.

"Where was he found?" Lindsay asked.

"Near the kitchen door, we don't have any cameras around there" He replied.

"Okay, if you're happy to look after him for now we'll have quick look around the area and see if anyone saw something" She said ignoring protocol that dictated she call the department.

"Can do" He replied looking down at the baby who'd promptly fallen asleep. Lindsay and Halstead left the firehouse and started door knocking, it was arduous but by the time they got to the end of the street they had a better idea of what they were looking for. A young blonde in a grey hoodie, aged between 14 and 16, had walked up the street with a baby then half an hour later back down the street without it. It was more information then they'd had before but still not enough to identify her. They headed back to the firehouse deciding to call around the nearest hospitals to check their records. As soon as they walked in Truck 81, Squad 3 and Ambulance 61 were called to a factory fire.

"Great timing" Kelly said handing Erin the baby. She looked down in horror as it began to cry, the transition from Kelly's warm arms to her stiff ones had woken him. As the firehouse emptied she looked across at Halstead who was trying desperately not to laugh. The crying got louder, she knew she had to do something so she jiggled the baby a little, louder again. It took her a moment to come up with a plan B but when she did it worked perfectly. She placed her finger in the baby's mouth, he couldn't wail and suck at the same time. Lindsay gave Halstead a look that guaranteed she wouldn't hesitate to hurt him if he said a word.

"I think it's hungry" She said fascinated by how forcefully the baby could suck.

"What do we feed it?" Halstead asked following her into the kitchen.

"Water?" She answered, it seemed like the safest option.

"How do we feed it?" was the next dilemma.

"A water bottle" She suggested supervising him as he searched the kitchen for a suitable vessel.

"Will this do?" He asked finding one in a cupboard.

"Hope so, wash it and we'll find out" She said.

"It's already clean" He complained but ran the sink and washed it anyway. "Here" He said handing it to her once he'd dried and filled it. Lindsay withdrew her finger to take the water bottle, she popped open the lid and shifted the baby so he was almost upright. It took a few attempts but sure enough the baby was quite content to drink from the water bottle. As he drank he started to doze, she was particularly relieved when he finally fell asleep.

"Now we just have to make sure he stays asleep until they get back" She said moving at a snails pace to take a seat on the couch.

"I'm going to call around the hospitals and see if a blonde teen had a baby boy in the last week, there'll be hundreds..." Halstead said convinced it was hopeless.

"Okay, I'll be here" She said wondering if turning on the television would wake the baby. Not wanting to risk it she let her mind wander, the baby was the most interesting thing in the room and she found herself watching him. Taking slow even breaths as it slept oblivious to the uncertainty that lay before him.

"About a dozen girls matching that description had boys in the last few days, I've got Nadia trying to fine photos to match the names. She'll send them through and I'll go and ask around again" Halstead said when he returned.

"Great, thanks" Lindsay said realising she hadn't helped at all.

"I still don't know why we're bothering" He said.

"We need to make sure she was of sound mind when she gave him up, its the right thing to do" She tried to justify.

"I think the old Lindsay would call the department and be done with it" He commented. She didn't take it as an insult but it was hard to understand what he meant, she didn't feel like she'd changed all that much.

"I probably would have. Hormones are probably responsible for making me feel like we need to try to reunite this baby with his mother but I don't think that's a bad thing" She answered feeling slightly defensive.

"It isn't a bad thing, I'm just not used to it yet" He said taking a seat next to her.

"Neither am I" She admitted.

The return of the fire crew could be heard before they were seen. Lindsay was quick to hand the baby to Dawson, the closest and cleanest person. She went with Halstead to show the photos to the people who'd been most helpful earlier in the morning. Three of them identified the same girl, Leah Wilson, a fifteen year old girl who'd had a record including a stint in juvenile detention for possession. They walked back the firehouse and told Kelly the news.

"So if you know who she is can you find her?" He asked, clearly under the impression there was going to be a fairytale ending.

"We'll try. I should call the department" Lindsay said gesturing to the baby.

"I don't want you to get into trouble" He said making her feel even more conflicted.

"I'll call you when we find her" She replied unsure if it was the right decision, they might not find her.

"Good luck" Kelly said as she walked away.

"You looked terrified when he handed you that baby" Halstead commented as they drove back to the district.

"Well I don't exactly have any experience with babies" She argued.

"You might want to work on that" He suggested, as if she didn't already know. With the whole team on the case it didn't take long to trace Leah to a group of street kids known for drug trafficking. They paid a friendly visit to the leader of the group who hadn't seen Leah in a few months but knew where she had been staying. Following that trail they managed to leave a message with the woman she had been living with for the last few weeks. There was little more they could do until she turned up. Lindsay took her lunch break grabbing a sandwich before taking a walk around the block to clear her head. The moment she sat back down at her desk after lunch her phone rang.

"Lindsay, I've got a kid down here for you" Platt informed. Lindsay made her way downstairs and thanked Leah for coming, she took her to the diner down the street and took the chance to get to know her.

"Can you look after him? Just until I get a job and somewhere to stay" Leah pleaded when Lindsay tried to explain the options.

"No, but I can talk to the department, get him placed in foster care instead of up for adoption" Lindsay said she wanted nothing more than to help the girl who could so easily have been her.

"Will they give him back when I get a job?" She asked looking heartbroken.

"I'm not sure, I'll do what I can" Lindsay said though she wanted nothing more than to reassure Leah.

"Can I see him first?" Leah asked.

"Of course, I'll get someone to bring him over" Lindsay said pulling out her phone. She organised for Kelly to bring the baby around then called the department of child and family services to arrange a meeting. Lindsay felt strangely nervous watching the department representative arrive, she desperately wanted to help Leah and the baby, Lucas. She felt much more confident when the department representative was willing to negotiate with Leah, she'd regain custody the moment she had a suitable place to live, a job and someone to look after Lucas when she was working. The meeting was a success but it was painful to watch Leah saying goodbye to Lucas. Lindsay bought the girl dinner and took her to the place she was staying before handing her a business card, an unofficial contract.

"I'm so glad we have today off" Kelly said taking the last bite of his toast.

"Me too, yesterday was intense" Erin agreed.

"I'm really excited" He said. Kelly had been looking forward to the twenty week ultrasound for more than a month. Having missed missed the first one, something he still hadn't forgiven himself for, this was his first opportunity to see the baby properly.

"I am too" She agreed though it was clear she wasn't nearly as excited as he was. They got ready for the day then made their way to the clinic. Arriving half an hour early for their appointment they spent the time in the waiting room discussing Leah and Lucas. Both agreed that they would do as much as possible to help Leah get her life back on track so she could have Lucas back.

"Erin Lindsay" The nurse called. Erin led the way while Kelly, who could barely contain his excitement followed along behind.

"Take a seat" The sonographer instructed.

"Don't look so nervous" Erin whispered stopping to squeeze Kelly's hand before she did what she was told.

"Sorry" He whispered back, anxiety and excitement getting the better of him.

"Everything normal so far?" The red-headed sonographer asked watching Erin lift her shirt expectantly.

"Yeah, as far as I know" Erin answered.

"Good to hear, shall we have a look?" The sonographer asked placing the probe where she had just applied the gel.

"Sure" Kelly said moving to get a better view of the screen. Erin watched Kelly. His head turned like a confused puppy trying to make sense of the dark, irregular shapes.

"That's an arm" The sonographer explained moving the probe to get a better view of the baby.

"That's amazing" Kelly said looking truly awestruck. Erin finally decided to look at the screen, the grey blob had developed into a perfect miniature human.

"Well I'm just going to check that everything is developing properly and take some measurements, then I'll take a couple of pictures for you" The sonographer said moving the probe around, first to check the tiny, thudding heart then on to the other organs. "Would you like me to check the gender?" She asked. It was a simple enough question but Erin and Kelly looked at each other quizzically.

"No, I think we'll wait" Erin answered after a momentary pause during which she communicated with Kelly in looks alone, better if they let the firehouse 51 betting scheme continue uncorrupted.

"Okay well then you'd better look away" The sonographer instructed before continuing. "There don't appear to be any anomalies, everything looks normal just a little smaller than I'd expect, nothing to be worried about but I'll mention it in my report. Your doctor will probably want to run some blood tests" She explained.

"Alright" Erin acknowledged feeling concerned for her baby, she'd been doing everything right.

"That'll make a good one" The sonographer said taking a photo of the baby, thumb in mouth. She printed it out and handed it to Kelly along with half a dozen more she had taken throughout the appointment.

"Thanks" Kelly said accepting the photos gratefully, now he could replace the outdated and battered one he had been carrying around in his pocket. Erin was still trying to process the news that something could be wrong.

"I'll see you again in a month" The sonographer said turning off the machine. Erin wiped away the gel then got up and straightened her shirt.

"Thank you" Erin said automatically before leading Kelly back out into reception.

"She said it was nothing to worry about" He commented noticing that she was doing just that.

"I know, I just want it to be perfect" She said allowing him to usher her into the passenger seat.

"It will be" He said, she wondered how he could feel so certain.

"I hope so" Erin commented. Looking after Lucas the day before had made her realise how little she knew about babies, now she felt completely incompetent, she couldn't even grow a normal baby. Kelly knew she was struggling but couldn't think of anything to say to make her feel better so he kept quiet. She barely said a word for the rest of the morning, as they sat down to a late lunch Kelly couldn't keep quiet any more.

"Tell me what you're thinking" He said looking across at her frowning thoughtful face.

"This is crazy" She answered honestly.

"What is? Having a baby?" He questioned.

"I thought I could be a good mum but I know nothing about babies. Lucas yesterday freaked me out. He was so tiny and fragile and dependant, I don't know if I can handle that. But here I am growing a baby, not that I can even do that properly. I'm crazy for thinking it was going to work out" She exploded feeling both outraged and upset.

"Erin, you are doing an incredible job. The baby is perfect. You'll learn how to look after it, we have months to get ready" He said seriously. "If anything goes wrong I have Cindy Herrmann's phone number" He added to try and lighten the mood.

"Okay" She said, she still felt hopeless but relieved to have spoken her feelings.

"You'll meet Cindy tomorrow at Kenny's birthday party, she'll teach you everything you need to know. You are going to be an amazing mum" He assured pulling her into a hug. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and writing a list of all the things they needed to do before the baby was born. The list joined the ultrasound pictures on the fridge. Erin felt much better knowing she wasn't alone, she had Kelly, Hank, Jay, the rest of the intelligence unit and everyone from firehouse 51 supporting her. She couldn't possibly fail.

**That sounds a bit ominous but it isn't meant to be! I hope you liked this chapter, I really love showing that Erin isn't always tough. Question: Does anyone actually know all of Herrmann's kids names? Because I'm going to need them for tomorrows chapter (all I remember are Lee Henry and Kenny) but he has five kids so I'm missing two more boys and a girl...I might just make them up because I don't have time to rewatch it all :D **


	21. Chapter 21

During her lunch break Erin met with Kelly and together they ventured to the nearest toy store in search of a gift for Kenny. Erin was overwhelmed by the vast quantity of seemingly useless but brightly coloured plastic toys filling the shelves. They split up hoping to cover more ground. A few minutes later Erin had found some interesting toys in the educational section and went to find Kelly. He was crouched down laughing as he pressed the buttons on a toy firetruck.

"Won't he have one of those already?" Erin asked trying to be serious though his laughter was contagious.

"Probably" He replied pressing the siren button one last time before standing up.

"How about this one?" Erin asked pointing to a police helicopter toy.

"Definitely not!" Kelly declared moving further down the aisle.

"What about these?" Erin asked holding up a cute set of animal print building blocks.

"They won't make noises and drive Herrmann nuts" Kelly complained.

"So that's what we're looking for" She chuckled turning on the spot to try and locate a particularly noisy toy, the colours were so distracting it was hard to single one out.

"I have found the perfect thing" Kelly announced selecting a box and bringing it to show Erin. She read the package sceptically, it was a large red plastic toy with almost a hundred tiny buttons on the front, each a perfect tiny illustration that made a corresponding sound when pressed.

"That'll do it" Erin agreed after pressing a couple of the buttons, a deranged sounding cow noise followed by ridiculously fake clapping.

"Now we just need some wrapping paper and a card" Kelly said marching triumphantly to the checkout. Once he'd purchased the toy he made his way to a newsagent where he purchased wrapping paper and a card with matching firetruck print.

"Will you be okay to wrap it?" She asked watching him struggle to fit his three purchases in the one bag without bending the card or crumpling the paper.

"I'll figure it out" He said confidently, how hard could it be? Once he'd dropped Erin off at work he found out. It took nearly half an hour for him to wrangle the paper and sticky tape around the toy, he had given up on trying to be neat. He figured Kenny wouldn't mind anyway. Exhausted and covered in tiny offcuts of sticky tape he placed the toy by the door and flopped onto the couch. Having recovered from his disastrous wrapping attempt he spent a few minutes picking sticky tape off himself and the table before showering and getting ready for the party. Kelly watched a rerun of the previous nights basketball game then decided it was time pick Erin up. She couldn't help but laugh when Kelly handed her the gift.

"Nice job" She commented gently removing her hand from the corner where the tape was the wrong way up.

"I let Shay do all the wrapping" He defended, it was the first time he'd brought her up and maintained his smile.

"That would explain it" She accepted finding a safe way to hold the gift that didn't threaten to expose the present.

"We can leave whenever you want, just let me know" Kelly informed pulling up in the already crowded street.

"I've been looking forward to this all day, we aren't going to throw the present at the kid and run" She said wondering if she would come to regret the statement. Kelly had warned her that the Herrmann house could be chaotic.

"Welcome" Cindy Herrmann half sang when she opened the door, she pulled Kelly into an eager hug then turned to Erin looking surprised.

"Hello" Erin said while the older woman inspected her carefully.

"This is Erin, my..." Kelly tried to introduce struggling to define their relationship, girlfriend sounded much too immature.

"Your?" Erin asked enjoying watching him flounder.

"Amazing, wonderful, beautiful...Otis!" Kelly answered running off to avoid the question.

"This is exciting" Cindy said looking down at Erin's belly.

"It is" Erin replied, knowing Cindy would be a great ally.

"You sound nervous, don't be, you're part of the family now" Cindy instructed. That was easier than Erin had been expecting. "Enjoy the party" Cindy said rushing off as the doorbell sounded again. Erin made her way towards the noise finding herself amongst a crowd of people some she recognised, others she didn't.

"I found the birthday boy!" Kelly announced carrying in the squirming toddler into the room. The crowd cheered before returning to their own conversations. Kelly brought Kenny over and introduced him to Erin who pulled faces until the baby laughed. "See you've got this down" Kelly commented struggling to hold the kid as he writhed with laughter. She gave him a look that suggested he should refrain from commenting on the topic.

"Ahh, I've been looking for him" Dawson said taking Kenny from Kelly.

"I'll put that over there" Kelly said taking the present. Cindy pounced and Erin watched the blonde laughing at the pathetic wrapping attempt and Kelly's excuses. While it was no where near the best wrapped gift in the adults opinion it took Kenny a full ten minutes to open making it his favourite by far. Once the paper was off his dad helped him take the toy out of the box then shot Kelly a murderous glare as Kenny began to prod the buttons.

Erin used the fact that her baby was small as an excuse to loiter around the food, sampling everything before settling on fairy bread and fruit. Over the course of the evening she was introduced to the rest of the Herrmann tribe. As the party came to an end Erin joined Kelly and Chris in helping get the children ready for bed, a task that really did require all six hands.

"Thank you" Chris mouthed holding the youngest Herrmann asleep in his arms. Erin shook her head in response, there was no reason to be thanked when all she had done was help three year old Josie into her pajamas and convince her that the tiara wasn't really necessary for bed. Kelly got the older boys, Luke, Lee Henry and Nathan, into their beds then joined Erin at the top of the stairs.

"It's so quiet" She commented, all that could be heard was the clattering of plates downstairs and a soft murmur from the boys.

"Quick, before they all recharge" He joked heading down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could. Erin followed him and watched as he pitched in to help clear the dishes as well.

"All in bed, I don't know how you do that without help" Chris announced when he arrived in the kitchen, he'd decided to give his wife the night off.

"They aren't that bad" Cindy commented giving her husband a stern look.

"Oh right! No they're great" He backtracked before turning on Kelly. "As godfather it is your duty, in times of dire need, to watch the children for an evening while we go see a movie" He said gesturing first to Kelly then to his wife and self.

"Of course, when?" Kelly asked, he felt bad that he hadn't spent more time with Kenny, especially after Shay, his godmother, had died.

"Next Tuesday" Chris said hopefully.

"I'm working, to make up for yesterday" Kelly said wondering if he could get out of work.

"I'll do it" Erin volunteered, the perfect opportunity to see if she was mother material.

"By yourself?" all three asked looking shocked.

"Sure, I mean I've never looked after five kids before but I have done some babysitting" Erin explained wondering why they looked so worried, she could handle it.

"I'll organise some sleepovers, that'll leave you with three" Cindy said surprising Erin with her willingness to leave her children with someone she'd spent less than ten minutes talking to.

"I can manage, I promise" Erin assured, Kelly was the only one still unconvinced.

"I'll have sorted through and found baby things for you by then too" Cindy said getting rather excited.

"Sounds great, what time?" Erin asked.

"Five thirty" Cindy answered mentally calculating where that would put each of the children in their busy schedule.

"I'll see you then" Erin said knowing Kelly was eager to leave.

"Sounds great, lovely to meet you Erin" Cindy said ushering the pair towards the front door.

"Thank you, it was a wonderful party" Kelly added before they left.

"That was actually really fun" Erin commented as she got into the car.

"You don't have to babysit if you don't want" He answered, mind still struggling to see her manage three kids alone.

"I volunteered" She reminded wondering why he was having such an issue with it.

"Okay, if you're happy" He insisted knowing it was the most important thing.

"What are you worried about?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just know you haven't got much experience with kids and taking on three at once is a big ask" He answered trying not to offend her.

"I have experience with kids, I looked after Liam and Emmy for almost a week after Jules died" She explained, "Its babies I know nothing about. Cindy knows everything about them so it won't hurt to do something for her in return"

"Sorry, I didn't realise you had everything all figured out" He said.

"Trust me" She said with a grin.

"I do" He said determinedly.

"Good, then you won't mind stopping by the convenience store" She answered. Confused but knowing better than to question it Kelly did as he was told. He was glad he did when she returned to the car and handed him an ice cream. They ate them quickly, the car heater melting them as quickly as a summer day, then headed home to bed.

**Little reference to the fact that its the first day of summer! I love summer because it means watermelon, mango, my birthday and Christmas :D Erin babysitting should be fun!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I had a heap of fun writing this so I hope you like it :D**

Voight was pleased when Erin requested Tuesday afternoon off. Not only was he running out of paperwork and odd jobs to keep her busy but he was worried she wasn't taking care of herself. She was just as eager as she'd always been to work long into the night, doing anything and everything until justice was served. If anything she stayed later as she got more and more proficient on the computer, finding information before the team even needed it.

Erin took the opportunity to attend a doctor's appointment, hoping to supply enough blood to solve the mystery of her baby's slow growth. It also ensured she couldn't possibly be late to babysit for the Herrmann's. The doctor couldn't shed any light on the baby's health until the blood test results came back so Erin left feeling rather frustrated. If she was doing something wrong she'd much rather know straight away. Checking her watch she found she had plenty of time to stop by the supermarket. The teen at the checkout looked confused when she purchased baking goods, an unusually large amount of salt, glitter and food dye. She had planned an activity that the Herrmann kids were sure to love. Arriving five minutes early she managed to distract the kids long enough to let Cindy finish getting ready while Chris worked away in the kitchen.

"Alright, I think we're almost ready" Cindy said rushing around the house putting library books in book bags at the same time as doing her hair.

"This will be ready in an hour" Chris said putting dinner in the oven to cook. Erin pulled out her phone and set an alarm.

"I can always call" Erin reminded watching Cindy frozen on the spot, momentarily unable to find anything to do.

"Okay, good luck, Nathan is going be good and help Erin isn't he?" Cindy asked the boy who looked like he was planning something.

"We'll be fine" Erin assured taking Kenny from Chris then gathering the other two to wave goodbye from the front steps. Once the car had disappeared down the street she got the kids back inside. "Should we do something fun?" She asked leading the kids to the kitchen, she put Kenny in his high chair then helped Nathan and Josie wash their hands.

"Are we making cake?" Josie asked.

"No, we're making something better" Erin said orienting herself in the kitchen before selecting a bowl and utensils.

"What's better than cake?" Nathan asked adorably confused.

"Playdough" Erin answered putting the kettle on to boil. She let Nathan and Josie help measure out the flour and salt before adding cream of tartar and a dash of oil. Erin gave Kenny the packet of glitter to play with while she measured and added hot water to the bowl. Soon Nathan and Josie were fighting over who got to mix the dough, thankfully it was mixed and had cooled enough to play with. Erin tipped the contents of the bowl on the dining room table, divided it into two large pieces and a smaller one. She gave Josie and Nathan a big piece each then asked them to pick their favourite colour from the food dye packet. Josie wanted red while Nathan was keen on green, Erin put a few drops of dye into each blob and instructed the children to knead until it was all coloured. She turned back to get Kenny and instantly realised her mistake, the toddler had managed to get the packet of glitter open and was covered head to toe. With a sigh she lifted him out of the high chair, keeping him at arms length, and dusted off as much as she could. Holding him on her hip with one arm she checked on the kids, delighted at their playdough creations, then made her way to the bathroom. Stripping Kenny down to his diaper she washed him off as best she could, the worst of it was in his hair, she'd work on that at bath time. Once Kenny was dressed she put him on the floor to play with some blocks while cleaning off the high chair, scooping as much of the glitter back into the packet as possible.

"My hand is bleeding!" Shrieked Josie startling Erin who raced to see what had happened.

"What happened?" Erin asked before she had a chance to assess the situation. The kids had clearly been unsatisfied with the finished colour of their playdough and had helped themselves to the bottles of dye, now their hands and arms were stained. Josie's blood red. The little girl held out her hands clearly on the verge of tears. "They aren't bleeding, it's just the colour rubbing off" Erin explained poking the ball of dough then showing the girl her red finger.

"Oh" Josie announced looking sideways at the playdough as if it might hurt her.

"Why did you add so much dye?" Erin asked looking at them both.

"It was Josie" Nathan answered quickly.

"Sure" Erin said taking the dye with her as she returned to the kitchen. She carried the high chair into the dinning room and gave Kenny the uncoloured dough, not much point adding dye as he was most likely going to eat it. She divided the remaining glitter into Josie and Nathan's playdough and they laughed as they kneaded it in then started building. Erin pulled out her phone and took a quick photo of the three, each concentrating on their own masterpiece. The dinner alarm sounded and she helped them pack up and wash their hands before serving dinner. Kenny had eaten much less of the playdough than she expected but he certainly had an appetite shovelling the food into his mouth with little assistance. Once everyone had finished eating she cleaned up and let Nathan lead her through their usual routine, bath, story, bed. Nathan took care of himself, Josie needed help washing and combing her hair, and Kenny splashed and squirmed while Erin tried to wash him. She did her best to stop the glitter that had washed into the bathwater reattaching but most of it ended up on the towel.

"Story" Josie demanded arriving in the bathroom as Erin dried Kenny.

"In a second" Erin answered before turning to see Josie dressed in rainbow tights, a hulk shirt , a raincoat and tiara. "Where are your pyjamas?" She asked.

"The fell out the window" Josie answered trying to sound convincing, Erin didn't buy it for a second locating them under the pillow on her way to dress Kenny. Nathan was waiting patiently in his room so Erin stopped to read to him while Josie got changed into her 'proper' pyjamas.

"Okay, sleep well" Erin said tucking Nathan in, she scooped Kenny up and carried him across the hall to Josie's room. "You ready for a story?" She asked the little girl, who now wore the raincoat over her pyjamas.

"Yes" Josie squealed jumping excitedly into her bed.

"Promise you'll take the raincoat off at the end of the story" Erin negotiated, Josie agreed eager to hear the tale of the cheeky princess who wouldn't go to sleep. By the time the princess had evaded everyone at the castle Josie was yawning. As soon as the story ended Erin helped her out of the raincoat and she was off to sleep. Kenny settled into his cot without a fuss and Erin headed downstairs to clean up properly. Just when she thought her job was done for the evening the phone rang, it felt strange to answer someone else's phone but she didn't have a choice.

"Hello?" She asked wondering who would be calling this late.

"Hello, are you the babysitter?" A woman asked.

"Yes, why?" Erin responded.

"I'm Lisa, Ben's mum, Lee Henry bumped his head and he wants to come home" The woman explained.

"Is he okay?" Erin asked, she wasn't responsible for him but she was still concerned.

"Yes, I put ice on it, just a little bruise but he's pretty upset. Can you come get him?" Lisa asked.

"Um..." Erin paused to think, not only did she have three children upstairs asleep but even if she did wake them she couldn't take them anywhere without car seats. "I'm sorry but I can't. Can you bring him home? I don't have car seats" She asked hoping Lisa wouldn't mind.

"Alright, we'll be there soon" Lisa agreed, reluctantly.

"Thank you" Erin said hanging up the phone. She was still wondering if she should call Chris and Cindy when the car pulled up out front. She went out to greet and thank Lisa before bringing the teary eyed boy inside. "Not such a great night huh?" She asked Lee Henry as he rummaged through his bag for his teddy bear.

"Ben pushed me!" He answered clearly upset by the whole situation.

"That's not nice, why would he do that?" Erin asked trying to understand.

"Because he didn't believe me when I said my dad's a hero, his dads a plumber so I reckon he'd jealous" Lee Henry explained, Erin tried to keep a straight face.

"Your dad is a hero, but he'll be a grumpy hero if he comes home and you aren't in bed" Erin justified, checking the time, still half an hour until his parents were expected home.

"You're right" He accepted giving her a quick nod of approval before taking himself upstairs to bed. Erin followed him taking the opportunity to check on the other three, all soundly asleep in their own beds. Now she really was done for the night, she had learned some very important lessons: glitter goes everywhere, never leave children alone with anything and to expect the unexpected. She was mid yawn when she heard Chris and Cindy arrive home.

"How'd you go?" Cindy asked thankful to see Erin looking composed.

"Pretty well, I think. They're all asleep so that's something" Erin said hesitant to bring up the glitter or dye debacles.

"All three of them?" Chris asked looking amazed.

"All four" Erin corrected before explaining that Lee Henry had come home early.

"Lovely" Cindy said. "Did you burn yourself?" She asked noticing Erin's bright pink finger.

"It's food dye, I left Nathan and Josie alone with it so she has pink arms and his are slightly green" Erin explained.

"Phew! That's fine" Cindy said not seeming to mind.

"Kenny managed to get a packet of glitter open so he's a little sparkly" Erin added deciding to come clean.

"Of course he did!" Chris replied knowing that Kenny was great at getting into anything he wasn't supposed to.

"Most of it washed off, other than that they ate well and went to bed without a fuss" Erin reported reflecting on the evening, there had been a few tricky moments but otherwise everything had worked out well. If that was her parenting style she had nothing to worry about.

"Chris, go get that box of baby things for Erin" Cindy instructed.

"If you give me your keys I'll put it straight in your car" Chris said, Erin handed them over and stopped to talk with Cindy while he loaded the box.

"Thank you" Erin said when Cindy reassured her that the baby would be fine and that she'd make a great mum.

"No! Thank you for tonight, it's the first time in years we haven't received a call halfway through dinner" Cindy explained away.

"I'd be more than happy to do it again" Erin announced, it was true too. The Herrmann children were very well behaved and she had enjoyed watching them. Chris gave her back her keys and she farewelled them eager to get home and go to bed. Pulling up out the front of her apartment building she looked at the box in her back seat and decided to take it upstairs. The ground was icy and the box was heavy but she managed the task and was glad it was done. She wasn't so pleased when she woke in the morning with a sore back. Kelly tried to keep calm as he watched her wince as she pulled on her boots.

"You have to let me help" He said knowing that getting angry wouldn't help. Erin ignored him and left for work.


	23. Chapter 23

**So this chapter is kind of all over the place…sorry it's hard to communicate what I picture in my head sometimes :D I must thank sydcasy and stagediva23 especially for their constant support but I love every review, good or bad and I'm so thankful that you take the time to write them :D**

Lindsay walked into Voights office, she was glad for chance to get up, sitting all day wasn't helping her back. In her hand she held a folder with everything she could had found on the man behind the scheme. He had started out stealing cars at just twelve years old, using his time in juvenile detention to make alliances. Over the years he had taken a step back, now merely requesting a make and model for his cronies to steal, modify and on sell to the highest bidder. The bidders were often gang members or wealthy criminals. He made quite a profit.

"Ah, thanks" Voight said when he opened the folder.

"Everything you could possibly want to know about Alonso Gomez" Lindsay said trying to enjoy the moment. While she was technically still part of the team she knew that the sooner she provided the information the sooner the team would desert her for the thrilling chase that would secure the criminal, the thing she missed the most.

"I don't have time to read all this" Voight said knowing she had already read the whole thing.

"Okay, basically he was born a criminal. Heaps of theft as a child moving to stealing cars, now he's the boss. He's been working out of the Mechanics shop on Kline street..."

"You okay?" Voight questioned as her attention shifted causing her to pause mid-sentence.

"Yeah, it just kicked me" She answered, beaming, her hand pressed to the spot where her baby had just extended a foot.

"Really?" He asked sounding almost excited. She crossed the room and took his hand placing it just in time for the second kick. "That's amazing."

"Makes it real" Erin said pausing for a moment to think about the future. The baby continued to kick away, it was incredible to feel the baby, strong and healthy after a week of worry. As she tried to keep talking it became quite distracting, Voight learned all he needed to know then let Lindsay return to her desk. She hoped the baby would rest now so it could show off again later, when Kelly was there to feel it.

* * *

><p>Kelly was both excited and disappointed when Erin told him of the baby's antics as they sat in the doctors office waiting for the blood test results.<p>

"Erin Lindsay" the doctor called leading the pair into the office. "So I got your blood test results this afternoon."

"And?" Erin asked eagerly, after such a monumental moment that morning she was hopeful the test would provide extra reassurance that everything was fine.

"Everything is in the normal range except for your iron levels which are a little low, that doesn't explain the size issue though" The doctor answered.

"Okay so what's going on then?" Kelly asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure. Are you still working?" The doctor asked noticing how tired Erin looked.

"Yeah, just at my desk though" Erin clarified, starting to feel frustrated that everyone attributed anything negative to her work.

"It's still a stressful job, stress can inhibit the baby's growth and development" the doctor explained, Erin sighed.

"It's really not that stressful" She defended.

"It is and you know it, you should be getting way more sleep than you are" Kelly said.

"I get plenty of sleep, it's not as if I'm doing anything all day! I sit at my desk, I might head downstairs to visit Platt or get lunch but I honestly don't do anything that warrants extra sleep" Erin argued, she knew Kelly would agree with whatever the doctor said was best for the baby.

"You're growing a baby" The doctor reminded interrupting before it became a proper argument.

"What can I do then? I'm not stopping working" Erin asked knowing the sooner she tried to comply the sooner she could leave, fed up with the doctor already. The baby was kicking and growing, nothing was seriously wrong, it was just a bit small.

"Would you be willing to try a yoga and relaxation class? They're specifically for pregnant women" The doctor asked. Erin snorted but took the brochure anyway, it couldn't hurt and if it meant she could keep working it was worth the possible humiliation. The doctor encouraged her to increase iron in her diet but was otherwise satisfied that everything was going well. Now all Erin had to do was convince Kelly that everything was fine, she had a plan but needed the baby to cooperate, something she was sceptical about. Kelly cooked her an iron rich dinner, steak, broccoli and a baby spinach salad. It wasn't the best meal he had cooked but she ate it anyway knowing it would ease his concern.

"I'm sorry" She apologised trying to see the situation from his perspective. He wasn't growing their baby so all he could do was make her life as easy as possible, here she was fighting every attempt he made.

"Don't be, heck I started taking drugs so that I didn't have to stop working. I understand how much you love your job, I just need you to take the baby into account. Talk to Voight and negotiate to start later or leave earlier, then you can be home for dinner every night" He said trying to be gentle and forceful at the same time.

"I'll take the yoga classes, that'll get me out of work early twice a week. I don't want them to realise they don't need me" She admitted, once Voight knew the unit would continue to function without her he'd be just as eager for her to spend the rest of the pregnancy at home. She'd been making an extra effort to prove her value and now it was backfiring.

"Okay but if the baby isn't back on track by the next ultrasound you'll slow down, even if it means reducing your work hours" Kelly said. To his surprise Erin agreed with him. They changed and got into bed, without a word Kelly began to massage the source of her back pain. Feeling thankful for his intuition she let herself relax. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>"Your fireman is downstairs" Halstead remarked fetching the piece of paper he had left on his desk before heading back down the stairs.<p>

"He has a name" Lindsay called after him before getting up and going to see what Kelly was up to.

"Good morning" Kelly greeted as Lindsay approched.

"What's up?" She asked wondering if it was something serious or just another casual visit.

"I did some research and these are a good source of iron" He replied holding up a bag of dried apricots.

"Okay, thanks" Erin said accepting the bag while suspecting Kelly had an ulterior motive for visiting.

"Have you spoken to Voight yet?" He probed. There it was.

"No, but I will" She insisted. He gave her a sceptical look.

"You don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to telling him stuff" Kelly replied. Erin knew she had two choices, pretend the comment didn't hurt or get annoyed at him.

"Shut up" She replied with a playful laugh. It was true though, she didn't want to tell Voight because she didn't want the baby to interfere with her work, yet.

"Okay, have a nice day" He said giving her a quick kiss.

"Stay safe" She replied quickly watching him head outside where his squad hassled him for taking so long.

* * *

><p>Erin didn't need to tell Voight why she was leaving early, she just mentioned the baby and he would personally usher her out the door. She headed home to get changed, wondering what attire was appropriate for a pregnant yoga class. Pleased her stretchy exercise pants still fit she pulled them on before deeming the gap between her top and pants unacceptable. She began the search for a better shirt, when she hadn't found anything a few minutes later she took the top shirt off Kelly's pile and pulled it on, much better. Arriving at the venue she had never felt more self conscious, the class had been running for a month and in that time social circles had formed. As an outsider she decided to stop and observe rather than try to join in the pre-class conversations. The instructor was pleasant enough but had clearly never been pregnant, she expected them to contort themselves into all sorts of crazy positions, none of which were remotely relaxing. Erin struggled to imitate the others despite the fact she was no where near as pregnant as some. At the end of the session the instructor had the women lay on their backs with their knees bent, finally a comfortable position. Erin listened and tried to shut out thoughts of work as they took deep calming breaths. Relieved the session was over she helped pack up and was planning a quick get away when one of the ladies stopped to talk to her.<p>

"Hey, I noticed you're new. Do you want to get coffee?" The lady in the blue shirt asked "And by coffee I mean a non-caffeinated hot beverage" She clarified.

"Sure" Erin agreed.

"My names Lara by the way, I saw you all by yourself before class and I was worried you'd join the monster mums" Lara said, clearly the social circles were complicated and contentious. It was times like these Erin was thankful for her male work colleagues, much less drama.

"I'm Erin. Which ones are the Monster Mums?" Erin asked wondering which group in particular she was referring to.

"The ones with the matching shoes, they're the trendy ones who try to keep up with fashion. They wear so much make up that by the end of class their faces have melted, not so much now that it's cold out, but they looked like monsters, hence the name" Lara informed laughing at Erin's expression.

"Okay" Erin said still trying to process the information, she definitely didn't want anything to do with them.

"We don't know what they call us but it's probably rude and unimaginative" Lara added leading the way down the street, Erin hoped she knew where she was going.

"Well they don't sound like my kind of people" Erin said not sure where Lara fit in the scheme of things.

"Nobody is that kind of person, they're all just faking it together" Lara criticised. "Anyway enough about them, tell me about yourself."

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Erin asked not knowing where to start.

"Anything, is this your first? Are you still working? Stuff like that" Lara said, Erin got the impression that Lara didn't have much practice in social situation.

"Yes this is my first, 22 weeks in. I'm a detective but I'm on reduced duties" Erin explained following Lara into the cafe. Lara didn't have a chance to respond straight away as they placed their orders and found a table.

"A detective, that's awesome" Lara commented straightening the small vase of flowers in the middle of the table.

"I love it but I don't think the baby does" Erin said subtly letting on that work was a source of conflict.

"I was a flight attendant so I had to give up my job completely" Lara said

"Had to? Isn't it allowed?" Erin asked, it was true that she'd never seen a pregnant flight attendant but surely it wasn't legal for them to fire people on those grounds.

"It's allowed, I just don't think it's safe" Lara said, there was clearly more to it than she was letting on.

"What do you do with all your free time?" Erin enquired.

"Well my house is spotless and I finished in the baby's room last Friday so I've started reading parenting books" Lara answered, they were clearly two very different people. All Erin had for the baby was the box of things from Cindy, even then she hadn't had a chance to open the box.

"You're definitely more prepared than I am" Erin commented.

"Being organised is the only way I can keep calm" Lara justified.

"It is stressful" Erin acknowledged wondering why it was so much easier to talk with Lara than it was with Kelly.

"Absolutely, we're making people" Lara said as their drinks arrived. They discussed the gravity of their situations, making whole people, before turning to the topic of husbands/partners. Listening to Lara talk about her husband Josh made Erin all the more thankful for Kelly. Lara had clearly done a lot of research as the conversation moved back to pregnancy.

"How do you know so much, this is your first too right?" Erin asked.

"Well, kind of. My first baby was stillborn" Lara explained. Erin was shocked by the revelation, it explained so much about Lara's need to be completely organised.

"That's dreadful, I am so sorry" Erin said as she tried to process the news, a firm kick from her baby reminded her that all was well. It still didn't stop her feeling massively empathetic.

"I don't usually tell people straight up, they treat me differently. It was a horrible thing but it was two years ago and I'm just trying to move on, this baby is different and I need to focus on it" Lara explained.

"Well I'm glad you told me" Erin answered after a long pause, she didn't want to treat Lara differently but at the same time it was a big deal.

"I haven't scared you away have I?" Lara asked noticing how distant Erin seemed.

"Me? Scared! You wish" Erin answered lightening the mood, she was determined to grow and maintain a friendship with Lara.

"So you'll keep coming to the classes? Because I could use someone to talk to, and this is nice too" Lara said gesturing to the cafe.

"I will be, you and me 'coffee' after class, makes it worth coming" Erin answered.

"Great, I have to get home and cook dinner but I'll see you on Friday" Lara said finishing her drink. They talked as they walked back to their cars. Erin headed home, cooked and ate dinner then chatted with Kelly on the phone until he had to go on a call. Thinking about Lara made it difficult to get to sleep, she'd done everything right but her baby had died. Erin was grateful when the baby started moving around, almost as if it could feel her concerns and was trying to reassure her.

* * *

><p>"Lindsay, go with Halstead and make sure he doesn't take no for an answer" Voight ordered.<p>

"Really?" Erin asked, she wasn't allowed out from behind her desk but she was supposed to accompany Halstead to visit a CI.

"Yes, go" Voight insisted, Lindsay considered arguing then realised it would be a very low risk situation.

"This is cool" Halstead commented, only because it was the first time he'd been in the car with Lindsay and been driving.

"It is, kinda" Lindsay replied, hesitant to put herself or the baby in unnecessary danger.

"I'll watch out for you, it's just that Ricky knows you so he'll trust me" Halstead explained sensing his partners concern.

"I know" Lindsay confirmed as they pulled up out the front of the house. Halstead led the way making sure he was between Lindsay and any possible threat. They were just starting to get the information they needed from Ricky when something in the street exploded. Fighting every instinct Lindsay and Halstead ran towards the noise and found Ricky's car burning. Parked half in the garage Halstead rushed to the garden hose and started tried to keep the fire at bay while Lindsay called the Fire Department. Lindsay regretted leaving her desk when truck 81 and squad 3 arrived. The fire was extinguished promptly before Kelly even spotted her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked looking shocked.

"I was just talking to a CI" Erin explained.

"I thought you weren't doing this any more" He stated, frustration evident.

"I'm not, this is the first time I've been out in ages" She tried to explain, he clearly didn't believe her.

"Sure, we'll talk about it later, I have to go" He said leaving her standing at Ricky's front door. She knew it looked bad but since her conversation with Lara she had decided to take things easy, not that he'd know having been on shift at the time.

"That was dramatic" Halstead said heading back into the house to finish the conversation with Ricky. Now aware just how dangerous informing was Ricky refused to comment further, his knowledge had cost him enough. Lindsay and Halstead gave up and returned to the district. Lindsay was more than pleased to be back behind her desk.

Kelly was waiting to pick her up from work. At first Erin tried to explain that she hadn't wanted to go with Halstead but no matter how she said it Kelly was convinced she was lying. Frustrated and tired she ate dinner, took a shower and went to bed.

"I'm going for a jog" Kelly explained when Erin trudged into the kitchen the next morning.

"Okay, watch out for ice" She commented, surprisingly coherent considering she had just woken up.

"I will, have a nice day" He said lacing his shoe.

"How far are you going?" She asked wondering why he was so sure he wouldn't return before she left for work.

"Dunno" He answered uselessly, leaving her certain he was planning something. Without Kelly to talk to she decided to get ready and head to work early. The first sign that she was right to be suspicious of Kelly was that he had taken his car 'jogging'. Seeing his car parked out the front of District 21 only made her angry. She raced up the stairs to find Kelly talking with Voight in his office.

"I didn't know you took your car jogging" Erin commented as she entered Voights office.

"Erin" Kelly said, it almost sounded like an apology. She wondered if he regretted going behind her back or just that he'd been caught.

"He was just telling me that he's worried and wants you to work less" Voight said hoping it would help diffuse the tension. It didn't.

"He should trust me more" Erin challenged.

"I just need you to slow down, you weren't listening to me but I know you'll listen to him" Kelly answered.

"You were too busy accusing me of lying to realise that I have slowed down! I was home for dinner last night when the rest of the team stayed back and kept working. I'm going to the stupid classes the doctor suggested and it was working too. The only thing stressing me out at the moment is you!" She said struggling not to yell.

"We'll talk at home" He said acknowledging Voight's presence.

"Talk? Sure. Go to work" She said shoving him out of the office, it wasn't a well thought through statement seeing as he had the day off but it was effective enough in getting him to leave. She apologised to Voight quickly.

"I was just listening to what he had to say, I wasn't going to act on it" Voight assured, surely she knew he wouldn't reduce her hours without consulting her.

"Well you need to act on it, I'm going to stop coming in early and I'll be leaving at four from now on" Erin added still frustrated.

"Sure, you can leave whenever you want, we'll miss you but we'll manage" Voight accepted pleased that she was finally putting the baby first.

"Good" She snapped before leaving the office. She worked as usual powering through a few outstanding reports before helping the team track a phone across the city.

"Erin, my office now" Voight said shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"What's up?" She asked casually before realising the look on his face.

"That was Chief Boden, Kelly picked up an extra shift. He's been hurt, they're taking him to Lakeshore" Voight informed, fear apparent in her eyes. "Go" He instructed before yelling for Halstead to drive her.

**To be continued…**

**Eeek?! Is Kelly going to be okay? You'll find out tomorrow :D Other than that I just need to clarify that I have no medical training and everything to do with Erin and the baby's health is purely speculation based on stuff I've learned from watching Call the Midwife, One Born Every Minute and Midwives… I have also changed the picture and some settings, I hope I haven't messed anything up! Let me know what you think :D **

**Also I only just realised that the paragraph breaks might have been missing from earlier chapters...I'm not particularly skilled with technology but I had to edit something and I noticed they weren't there...That would make it kinda confusing to read! Sorry! I'll have to take the time to go back through an insert them but it won't be today because I'm mega busy (hence the early update).  
><strong>


	24. Chapter 24

Erin knew Halstead was driving as quickly as he could but it still wasn't fast enough. Regretting the last 24 hours worth of interactions with Kelly didn't help her remain calm. She had told him that he was the only source of stress in her life, at the moment it was true. If nothing else in their relationship had evidenced just how much she truly loved him this moment proved it beyond a doubt.

"He'll be fine, he's tougher than he looks" Halstead assured, he wasn't Kelly Severide's biggest fan but it was easy to put aside his feelings for the sake of his partner. He wanted nothing more than to drive at top speed and run every red light to get his partner to the hospital.

"I know" Erin answered though she sounded more than a little uncertain, so many possibilities swirled in her head but the thought of her baby not meeting it's father consumed her.

"I'll meet you in there" Halstead said pulling up in the ambulance bay so she could get out. As soon as the car was stationary she was on her way. She was rushing towards the nurse's station when Dawson blocked her path.

"He's fine, broken wrist, minor concussion, he'll need a few stitches in his arm. He's conscious and alert. I'll take you to him" Dawson explained allowing herself to smile as the weight on Erin's shoulders visibly lifted.

"Okay, thank you" Erin said with a small sigh of relief. It was one thing to hear it from Dawson, she needed to see it with her own eyes before she was convinced.

"Just in there" Dawson said pulling the curtain open enough to show Kelly looking slightly worse for wear but still pleased.

"Hey" Erin said moving to his side.

"I'm sorry" He answered knowing he'd worried her.

"Don't be silly. Are you okay?" She asked.

"I feel fine, just waiting for the x-ray to get back so they can cast it" He said trying to demonstrate that he was fine.

"Have they given you something for the pain?" Erin asked holding his uninjured hand.

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt much, once the cast is done I'm free to go" Kelly answered sounding rather pleased with himself.

"Home, to bed to rest, and you'll have the next week off" She insisted, he snorted. A week was a little excessive.

"So you can give it but you can't take it?" He asked knowing that she wouldn't take a week off work lightly.

"Fine, a few days" She revised, knowing he was right.

"Only if you'll stay and look after me" Kelly said trying to sound needy.

"I might" Erin said, he hadn't been being serious but she was. A few days off work wouldn't hurt, almost a practice run to see how intelligence would cope without her.

"How are you feeling now?" The doctor asked as he entered x-ray in hand.

"Still fine" Kelly answered turning to look at the x-ray, it was a clean break of both bones, radius and ulna, just past his wrist. Erin winced and Kelly squeezed her hand to comfort her.

"We'll get this over with then" The doctor said turning to the nurse and requesting a casting kit. It was done twenty minutes later and the pair emerged into the waiting room hand in hand. Everyone was pleased to see Severide up and about, especially Halstead who hadn't had the courage to ask the firemen about Severide's condition.

"I'll drive you home" Halstead said once the firemen were done criticizing the purple cast.

"Thanks, I'll let Voight know we're fine" Erin said pulling out her phone. Halstead was amused she had used 'we're' instead of 'he's'. She sent Voight a quick message then followed Halstead out to the car keeping a firm hold on Kelly the whole time. It was times like this she hated the stairs that led up to her apartment, Kelly didn't complain or even struggle but they still frustrated her.

"Bed?" He asked looking at the time, it was just after five.

"Yes" She said helping him as much as possible even though he acted as if there was nothing wrong with him. They settled onto the bed each taking the chance to apologise for that morning. The baby started to move around during the conversation and feeling the baby kick was all the medicine Kelly needed.

"That's incredible, you are incredible" He said as the baby continued its assault.

"I think you're pretty incredible, when you're not getting injured at work" Erin replied, everything she needed in the entire world was right there in her room.

"You me, Four day weekend" Kelly answered pulling her closer so he could lean down and kiss her.

"Sounds like a plan" Erin replied kissing him back. She snuggled against his chest and they napped until dinner time. Then they headed straight to bed both exhausted after such a long and turbulent day.

* * *

><p>When Kelly woke in the morning he looked over to find that Erin had tangled herself in the blankets. At first she lay still but as he continued to watch her he realised something was wrong, she was breathing rapidly and almost fighting the blanket. He wasn't sure if he should wake her or not but he reached over and helped untangle her, it seemed to help a little. Then a single tear ran down her cheek and onto the pillow, as he reached across to wipe away the trail it had left her eyes opened.<p>

"It's okay" Kelly said as his thumb grazed across her cheek. She blinked a few times trying to bring the world into focus.

"I'm sorry" She whispered worried that she had woken him somehow.

"What were you dreaming about?" He asked rubbing her arm slowly and gently completely ignoring her apology.

"You" She answered.

"I'm fine, I was lucky. I'll be more careful in the future" He guaranteed placing his hand over the baby.

"You still haven't told me exactly what happened" Erin said feeling much better.

"It's really stupid" He replied wondering if she would still stay home and look after him if she knew the truth.

"Tell me" She insisted, more interested than ever to hear the truth.

"Well I was clearing the second floor of a building, the fire was massive and we didn't have long. I must have missed a guy but when I walked past he grabbed my ankle, I tripped. Landed on my wrist, cut my arm on some metal and hit my head on the ground" He explained seriously expecting her to get out of bed and head to work. He wasn't a hero, he was just accident prone.

"You're an idiot, but I love you" She said affectionately.

"I love you too" He said pulling her close. Erin yawned then placed her head on his chest and tried to get back to sleep. It was nearly lunchtime when they decided to get out of bed, hunger finally getting the better of them. After lunch they sat down and looked through the box of baby things Cindy had given them. Erin wondered how Cindy had managed to fit so much stuff in a single box but put it down to plenty of practice with five kids and moving house. Kelly loved the tiny pink dresses while Erin preferred the geometrically patterned pants designed for boys.

"These are awesome" Erin said holding up a pair of pants with a panda face print.

"Yeah, with this shirt" He said handing her a pink shirt with an embroidered panda on the front.

"Maybe" Erin replied slightly less convinced than he was about the gender of the baby. The whole process of looking through the clothes really cemented that they were more than halfway through the pregnancy. She hadn't realised that babies needed so much stuff and started doubting the viability of continuing to live in her apartment.

"I forgot to tell you that I already have a crib, it's in storage, it was originally for Clarice's baby but Shay kept it. We can sell it and get a different one if you like, I don't really understand the differences" Kelly remembered, he'd gone to the effort of putting it together, then struggled to take it apart when Clarice had left, he was sure he could figure out how to get it back together again.

"Sounds great, I don't really understand either, I'll ask Lara this afternoon" Erin said remembering she hadn't had a chance to tell Kelly about her new friend.

"This afternoon?" Kelly asked, he thought they were going to stay in together.

"My super fun yoga and relaxation class, then coffee with my new friend Lara?" Erin explained. "I'll be back in time for dinner, then we could watch a movie."

"Okay, I'll cook" He volunteered.

"Not with one hand, I'll cook. You're supposed to be resting and recovering" She said, though he had adjusted to being one handed with relative ease.

"I'll manage just fine, you enjoy your yoga" He said determined that they divide tasks evenly.

"I'll try" Erin said hoping he was secretly jealous of the ridiculous class. She did in enjoy the class, it was much more entertaining with a friend to whisper with during the perplexing poses. At 'coffee' Lara was excited to announce that her baby was a girl which sparked the discussion on gender. Erin didn't have a preference but knew Kelly really wanted Shay's prediction to be right. Erin arrived home to find dinner almost ready and made Kelly sit down while she finished cooking. They ate, watched a movie then went to bed.

**So Kelly is okay and they're taking some time off work together which is sure to help their relationship…I feel like I'm really bad at writing dialogue between them so I try to keep it to a minimum, I just don't think it ever feels 'real' enough. Maybe I'm just being really critical of my own work! I had this really great idea that I would try and upload the chapter where the baby is born on my birthday…which is in 5 days on December 9th! I'll try and focus mainly on the cute bits while flying through the last couple of months of the pregnancy...Not sure how it's going to work out but that's the goal anyway, just thought I'd give you a heads up :D**

**P.S – I am also considering ending this fic when the baby is born then starting a second one which will cover the first year of the baby's life…I don't know how long I can sustain daily updates but what do you think? **


	25. Chapter 25

By Sunday afternoon they had reached saturation point. Monday had seen them avoiding each other, something that was considerably difficult in a one bedroom apartment. They had run out of things to do early on, the place was spotless, the crib in place, baby clothes sorted and organized into drawers and meals in the freezer to reduce cooking time. It got to the point that they resorted to communicating entirely in sighs. In a final attempt to spend time together Erin suggested they watch a movie, they argued over what to watch for almost an hour then watched the news instead.

"I love you and all but I'm really looking forward to work tomorrow" Erin said shaking her head.

"Yeah, me too" He agreed rubbing his forehead.

"I'm going to have a shower then go to bed" She informed with a yawn before leaving him alone on the couch. He sat there for a few more minutes then remembered he had to put the dishwasher on before bed. Erin emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, five minutes later. She stomped out to the kitchen and turned the dishwasher off, when it was on the shower only had two temperatures: freezing cold or insanely hot.

"I'm so sorry" He said watching her trudge back into the bathroom, she slammed the door in response. By the time she got into bed he was fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Starting the working week on Tuesday was strange but both Kelly and Erin were eager to get away from each other. They both slipped back into the routine of work, Kelly leading from the sidelines and Erin taking it easy. Time flew and before they knew it they were sitting in the waiting room at the medical clinic waiting to see if the changes they made had brought their baby back into the normal size range.<p>

"Erin Lindsay" The nurse called. By now they were familiar with the layout of the building and didn't need to be escorted to the consultation room. Erin was too nervous to make small talk so instead they got straight to business.

"Still don't want to know the gender?" The sonographer checked.

"Nope, gotta keep the betting fair" Kelly answered knowing they hadn't really discussed the topic.

"Who's betting?" The sonographer asked politely as she went about making her measurements.

"Guys from work, Jay got the rest of your unit in on it too" Kelly revealed, Erin had no idea he'd even spoken with Jay recently.

"Really? What's more popular?" Erin asked feeling slightly left out.

"It's pretty even at the moment, your lot reckon it's a boy" He informed, surprising her.

"Did Hank get involved?" She wondered aloud.

"He was the only one who put money on it being a girl" He answered taking in every detail on the screen. The baby had definitely grown but whether or not it was enough was still in question.

"Baby was small last time?" The sonographer asked looking across from the screen for the first time.

"Yeah, I had blood tests and we've changed things up a little" Erin answered pleased the baby was finally looking fully human.

"We'll you're lucky, it's just within the normal range. Keep doing whatever it is because it's working" The sonographer announced. Erin was ridiculously pleased with herself, and thankful that she hadn't given up on the yoga classes. The yoga itself didn't relieve her stress but whispering and joking with Lara was certainly comic relief.

"Good job" Kelly congratulated, he had noticed her anxiety but didn't want to put any more pressure on her. She did enough of that all by herself.

"So are you starting to get ready for the baby? Any name ideas?" The sonographer asked while she conducted a final check of the baby.

"We haven't even started talking about names yet" Kelly realized suddenly.

"We have some stuff together though, we're trying to be minimalistic" Erin answered, in truth they didn't have space for more than the bare essentials. They already had enough clothing for the first year and they'd already resorted to vacuum storage bags.

"Sounds like you're on the right track, you've still got a while to go" The sonographer said packing away her equipment. Kelly helped Erin up and they were done again for another five weeks.

"Thank you" Erin added as they left the room. The appointment hadn't taken as long as they had expected so they decided to have lunch together before going their separate ways.

"We should talk about names" Kelly suggested when their food arrived.

"Any suggestion?" She asked knowing she had absolutely no idea. It was a big enough responsibility making the baby she didn't want to be in charge of naming it as well.

"Not really, I figured you'd have some" He answered after taking a moment to think.

"Nope, I haven't really considered it yet" She said not even knowing where to start.

"Aren't little girls supposed to spend their time naming their future kids" He said before thinking, then he regretted opening his mouth.

"I had better things to do, and I never saw myself having a child" She answered honestly.

"I'm sorry" Kelly said, they ate in silence for a few moments both thinking about potential names.

"I don't like long names" Erin said.

"Short and simple is good" He responded before pulling out his phone. He read through a list of short baby names from a trendy website most of which Erin immediately rejected. The only names she liked even slightly were Evan and Olivia, she thought they were too boring and normal. They finished lunch and said goodbye then headed to work, Kelly to start a new shift and Erin to check in before going to yoga. Voight was elated to hear that everything was back on track with the baby and convinced her that they were well on the way to making an arrest. She could go to class and not have to worry about work.

Erin was less than pleased to find that even Kelly's shirts were a tight fit. She had succumbed to elasticated jeans but was yet to follow the tunic trend popular in maternity wear. Erin stopped by the firehouse to complain on the way to class but Kelly was more pleased than sympathetic.

"I like the squad shirt" Dawson commented as she walked past. Erin suddenly realized that she was wearing one of his squad shirts, Cerberus emblem emblazoned on the back. She considered going home knowing that Stephanie, the leader of the 'monster mums' would certainly comment. Then again she didn't care and knew it would be worse to be late for class. Lara came to Erin's rescue when Stephanie brought up the shirt by suggesting that Stephanie was just jealous her husband had an office job not something as manly as elite firefighting. Stephanie did not appreciate the criticism and purposely stood on the yoga mat Erin was trying to put away at the end of the session. Discussing the clothing dilemma with Lara turned out be a good idea, instead of going to coffee Lara took her to a tiny boutique that sold the most normal looking maternity wear Erin had seen. Two months further along than Erin, Lara was well known in the store. Pleased with her purchases she headed home to reheat Lasagna for dinner, watch crappy TV and go to bed.

**I apologise, this chapter isn't exactly what I had planned but I had an incredibly hectic day (tends to happen when family visit for the holidays). This is the first chapter I am genuinely hesitant to post but I'm too time poor to fix it. I am so thankful for the reviews I got yesterday, I know I'm harsh on myself and without your kind words I tend to procrastinate over the silliest things (English vs American spelling etc.). Knowing that you guys don't care about the minor details and just want to read the story puts the right type of pressure on me to keep updating! **


	26. Chapter 26

In the few weeks since the scan Erin had put a considerable amount of thought into naming the baby, she wanted something with meaning but didn't have any family names to use. Kelly had thrown himself into his work doing as many extra shifts as possible so he could take some time off when the baby arrived. Erin had already had to stop him trying to cut his cast off, he still had a fortnight to go but was convinced it was fully healed. She had been too tired to spend much time at work that week, the baby was growing rapidly and sleep became a highly valuable commodity. Between work, doctors appointments, yoga and sleep they didn't get an opportunity to spend much time together until Friday afternoon. Even then Kelly had agreed to go to some twilight street markets. Capp had set up a stall to get rid of all the stuff that hadn't sold at his garage sale, he was convinced the items were more useful and valuable than anyone else. Kelly had agreed to go and was sure to purchase something useless in support of his colleague. Erin hadn't originally minded the idea of a gentle walk around the markets but wearing a sweater and jacket made her feel massive.

"We don't have to stay long, just show our faces, buy something then head home" Kelly said walking with his arm around her shoulders.

"I don't mind, it's nice to be out" Erin answered, though she didn't have much hope that she'd be able to stay alert for long.

"Okay, just let me know when you're ready to go" He said knowing that she'd been exhausted all week.

"I will" She said steering him towards a stall that sold tye-dyed baby clothes, the didn't really need more clothes but decided on a cute little beanie and mitten set for the baby to wear when it was born. Bag in hand Kelly decided they'd better make an effort to find Capp's stall and led Erin in what he hoped was the right direction. The stopped to look at a few stalls on the way but didn't find anything worth buying. Kelly did his duty and bought a mug from Capp's stall then kept him company until Newhouse and his daughter stopped by.

"Where do you want to go now?" Kelly asked looking around carefully.

"There was an interesting stall of hand made stuff back that way" Erin said taking the lead. The stall sold personalized shirts, backpacks, pillows and banners. After a brief conversation with the stall holder Erin took a card thinking a banner with the baby's name would look good above the crib, if only they had a name.

"I like this one" Kelly said holding up a small shirt with a large red 'K' on it, a small dalmatian wearing a fire helmet sat alongside the letter.

"It suits you" She replied surprised by how perfect the shirt was. He folded it and placed it back on the table.

"Home?" He asked having seen everything that interested him.

"Not yet, let's keep walking for a bit" She answered hoping a walk would calm the baby which had been squirming since they'd arrived.

"Okay" He agreed taking her hand.

"Erin?" A voice called, Erin instantly recognized it but kept walking hoping that they'd think they were mistaken.

"Erin!" she called again, closer this time. Feeling cornered Erin stopped, took a deep breath and turned to watch her mother approaching.

"Who's that?" Kelly whispered unsure how to react.

"Go wait in the car, I'll be there in a minute" Erin replied regretting not leaving when Kelly had offered.

"No" Kelly insisted as the woman arrived before the pair.

"Mum" Erin greeted, sounding much colder than Kelly could have predicted.

"Erin" The woman responded. "You're pregnant?" She asked though it was beyond obvious.

"Yes" Erin replied.

"And who's this?" She asked turning to Kelly.

"Don't pretend you care" Erin snapped before turning and walking away, Kelly followed quickly not sure what he had just witnessed. Erin hadn't even talked about her mother in the present tense.

"You alright?" Kelly asked when Erin took the keys from him and drove them home without a word.

"Fine" She answered though it was obvious the chance encounter had dredged up the past.

"I know I don't have to remind you that you can talk to me about this stuff" He said as they began the slow ascent up the stairs, Erin had no idea how she was going to manage them in a weeks time let alone in two months.

"If I wanted to talk about it I would, truth is there is nothing to talk about. I don't give a crap how long she's been sober I want nothing to do with her, and she certainly isn't having anything to do with my baby" Erin explained sounding much more frustrated than he expected.

"Okay" He answered almost excited by how protective Erin had become.

"I'm tired" She said making her way to the bedroom. It wouldn't have mattered if she had been awake for an entire week she still wasn't going to get to sleep easily. Seeing her mother had made her realise that her fears of being a bad mother were absurd, there could be no comparison between the two Lindsay women. Reliving the past deprived her of valuable sleep time and she woke feeling as if she'd just gone to bed. Kelly made her breakfast so she ate then went back to sleep, the baby and her bladder woke her a short time later so she decided to get up properly. A quiet day at home followed by a visit from Jay for dinner left Erin thankful for the family she had made herself, it wasn't perfect by any measure but no family was. While Kelly showered she called Hank, more to hear his voice than to talk about anything serious. She was unable to tell whether her increased sense of anger towards her mother was aggravated by the unexpected review of the past or hormones. The baby cooperated and she managed to get the best nights sleep she'd had all week.

* * *

><p>During the week Erin received an elated phone call from Leah who had just been reunited with baby Lucas. Leah invited Erin to dinner to thank her for her contribution to the situation, something Erin told her was unnecessary but secretly felt very excited about. Erin told Leah she'd bring dessert and spent the afternoon baking a cake. Her culinary skills were mediocre but the cake looked alright and she was quite pleased she'd gone to the effort instead of taking a bought one. Leah was pleased to see Erin and dinner the was a great success. Lucas had grown incredibly and Erin left feeling confident that she had done the right thing. Lucas had gotten the start in life he deserved while providing the best possible motivation to his mother. When Erin arrived home from the dinner she was surprised to find Kelly in the kitchen with a guest, his sister Katie.<p>

"How was dinner?" Kelly asked noticing Erin's arrival.

"It was good. Nice to see you Katie" Erin replied wondering if Kelly had mentioned that his sister would be visiting.

"I'm up for the holidays so I figured I'd drop by" Katie replied sensing the confusion. "Congratulations by the way" she added getting up for a hug. Erin wasn't the hugging type but went along with it anyway.

"Thanks" Erin said watching as Katie moved back to the kitchen and continued the conversation she had been having with her brother. After watching the pair for a few moments Erin decided to head to bed, she had missed her afternoon nap on account of the cake and felt the need to make up for lost sleep. Kelly joined her in bed a little while later and apologized for the surprise visit. Erin didn't mind at all and made sure to tell Kelly that he didn't need to sacrifice his family to be with her.

* * *

><p>On Thursday night Kelly had invited Erin to dinner at the firehouse, Katie was going to cook and it would be a great chance for them to spend more time together. Erin arrived following a quick shower after yoga, Lara hadn't minded canceling coffee as she was nearing her due date. They had rescheduled for a quiet lunch in on Saturday.<p>

"Thank you for coming" Kelly greeted knowing Erin had had a long day at work.

"You've been talking about Katie's cooking skills for months, there's no way I'm passing up a chance to find out for myself" Erin answered allowing Kelly to guide her towards the kitchen.

"You won't be disappointed" He guaranteed. Erin had been prepared to help Katie in the kitchen but the space was already crowded with helpers.

"I skipped cake for this" She answered raising the stakes somewhat.

"Thank you" He said giving her a quick kiss. "I have to go finish the inventory, it shouldn't take long" He added hoping she wouldn't mind being deserted in his workplace.

"I'm fine, have fun" She responded knowing he had been complaining about the inventory for weeks.

"Haha" He replied unemotively as he walked away. After checking she couldn't be of use in the kitchen she went to take a seat. She had barely sat on the couch when Mouch walked into the room, immediately fixing his eyes on the detective. Kelly had warned her about this.

"Sorry, I'll move" She said quickly.

"No, no, you stay there, it's fine" Mouch said taking a seat at the far end, having already given up his spot he asserted himself by changing the channel. Erin hadn't been paying attention to the fishing program and didn't mind the catching the end of the news.

"Erin, how are things going?" Dawson asked looking excited.

"Great, I'm massive and none of my clothes fit but the baby's healthy and that's all that matters" Erin answered pleased that the paramedic turned firefighter cared.

"You must be getting close though" Dawson said.

"Not really, still months to go" She replied wondering how she would manage if the baby continued to grow at the same rate, she'd hardly be able to move. Dawson stopped for a moment wondering how to respond.

"You'd be feeling a fair bit of movement by now wouldn't you?" Dawson asked reflecting back on everything she had been taught about pregnancy during her training as a paramedic.

"Yeah, I've been trying to teach it to kick on command, works about half the time" Erin answered, it was true, she'd spent many an hour coaxing the baby to kick so that Kelly could feel it before bed each night.

"Really? That's pretty cool" Dawson said amazed and humored by the novel approach.

"I'll show you" Erin said hoping that the baby would comply. Dawson got closer and watched with intrigue as Erin felt for the baby's position then gently tapped a few times. It took a few attempts but surely enough the baby extended it's leg producing a visible kick.

"That is awesome" Dawson exclaimed watching the baby kick the spot a second time.

"I don't have anything better to do sometimes" Erin laughed.

"Either the baby is a genius or you're very patient" Dawson complimented.

"Both. But don't trust me give it a go" Erin said hoping she had read Dawson correctly.

"Really? You sure?" Dawson asked looking extremely excited by the idea.

"Yeah, doesn't bother me" Erin answered, half the time she didn't even think of the belly as part of her anymore.

"Where?" Dawson asked getting closer.

"Just there" Erin said pointing to a spot slightly to the right of where she had done it.

"And all I have to do is tap?" Dawson checked.

"Pretty much" Erin answered hoping the baby would behave. Dawson gave a few very gentle taps but it was sufficient, the baby gave a firm kick. Dawson grinned madly.

"That is really cool" Dawson said straightening as Casey entered the room. Kelly arrived triumphant to have finally finished the inventory. Katie announced that dinner was ready and everyone rushed to eat, Kelly helped Erin up and kept her close. Halfway through dinner Erin had a realisation, after seeing her mother she had been upset that her baby wouldn't have a big family, she was wrong. Everyone in the room was family.

**I really love this chapter, I think it was really important for Erin to realise that family doesn't have to be related and that everyone around her wants her to succeed. Thank you for continuing to read and leave reviews, I cannot express in words how amazing it makes me feel to know people are enjoying this :D **


	27. Chapter 27

Lunch with Lara was uneventful, they were both too tired to be conversational. Lara truly was massive and Erin didn't envy her one bit. Just walking from the kitchen to the lounge room had her out of breath, something Erin had to look forward to in the coming months.

"I'm going to go home and sleep" Erin said after a long silence.

"Okay, sorry I'm so boring" Lara replied feeling like a terrible host.

"Don't be silly, you try and get some sleep too" Erin instructed.

"Alright, see you on Tuesday" Lara said hoping Erin could find her own way to the door.

"If you haven't exploded by then" Erin joked as she got up to leave.

"Just you wait" Lara called after her, a hint of superiority in her tone. Erin had recently had to adjust the seat in her car to make room for the baby. The traffic was terrible, especially considering it was two in the afternoon on a Saturday. Once she was home she headed straight to bed. Erin slept heavily until a knock on her door woke her. Dishevelled with lines from the creases in her sheets on her face she answered the door.

"Thought you might want some dinner" Kelly said giving her the same sympathetic look he did every time he woke her.

"Thank you" She said her voice raspier than usual. She stepped aside to let him past then followed him to the kitchen.

"How was your day?" He asked scooping food from the plastic container onto a plate for her.

"Pretty good, I'm just starting to worry about how I'm going to cope when I'm the size of a whale" Erin said honestly accepting the plate he handed her.

"You are not going to be the size of a whale! We'll manage, I promise" He assured wondering what he could do to make her feel better.

"You're only saying that because it doesn't effect you!" She said with a laugh.

"It does effect me, eat your dinner and go to bed" He instructed giving her a kiss on the head, his men would not be pleased he had left them waiting for so long.

"Don't tell me what to do" She responded though it was exactly what she had had in mind.

"Love you" He said not wanting to leave.

"Love you too, stay safe" Erin answered tempted to get up and walk him to the door. After watching her eat for a few moments he sighed and left the apartment. She ate as much as she could but in the end couldn't finish the massive serving of Risotto. Giving up on eating she took a shower and went to bed.

* * *

><p>The two highlights Erin's week included Ruzek almost being fired and a day of doctors appointments with Kelly. On Tuesday Ruzek accidentally referred to Voight as 'Grandpa', something Olinsky had started to tease his old friend. Voight's face was priceless but it was Ruzek's back-pedalling that really made it memorable. On Friday Kelly and Erin attended three doctors appointments and an ultrasound appointment. Erin's strategy of sleeping whenever she felt even slightly tired had proved effective with the baby right in the middle of the normal range. Kelly was more than happy to be finally free of the cast that had inhibited the movement of his left wrist. In celebration they stopped past Molly's on the way home. Kelly drank a beer while Erin struggled to sit on a barstool comfortably, feeling ridiculously out of place she rushed Kelly to finish his beer and they left not long after arriving. Both were too lazy to cook so they reheated food from the freezer thanking Katie with every mouthful, never had reheated food tasted so good. Then it was off to bed for their nightly routine of a baby acrobatics demonstration followed by talking until the baby calmed down and finally sleep.<p>

* * *

><p>Trying to make the most of a sale Erin dragged Kelly to a store that sold everything they could possibly need for the baby. Erin was intent on finding everything they needed but didn't already own. Kelly followed along behind carrying the basket and occasionally contributing to colour choices.<p>

"Why do we need one of those?" Kelly asked watching Erin struggle to figure out which way up the baby carrier went.

"Because then we can carry the baby without using our hands" She explained still confused by the numerous straps and buckles. Only by figuring out how the baby was held in the contraption did she finally get it the right way up.

"Right" He said still not convinced that it was necessary.

"Here try it on" She said handing it to him.

"Why can't you?" He complained.

"Wouldn't be very effective" She responded gesturing to her belly.

"How does it work?" He asked but it turned out getting it on was the easy part. Once clipped in it took more than twice as long to get the thing off again. "I can get a person out of a very crushed car more easily than getting out of that thing" Kelly said once it was finally off. He was not amused when Erin handed him a different type to try. He was useless at deciding which one was more comfortable to wear and in the end gave his vote to the one that had been easiest to get on and off. Equally frustrated Erin shoved it in the basket and moved on to the next section. Before long the list she had made with Lara was completely crossed out and they made their way to the checkout.

"I didn't know it would take that long" Erin tried to apologise as he carried their purchases out to the car.

"It's fine, we have everything now though don't we" He checked hopeful he'd never have to face a store full of demanding pregnant women, confused fathers-to-be and useless teenage sales assistants.

"I think so" She said just to stir him, Lara's list had been quite thorough.

"I'm going to need a sleep when we get home" He complained.

"Lunch and then a sleep sounds good to me" Erin agreed knowing it was important to eat before she got hungry. Once she was hungry there was no going back, rather than taking a few minutes to make a proper meal she would simply devour anything and everything she felt like. At one point that had included half a jar of Nutella on salted crackers. Upon their arrival he dumped the plastic bags of baby things in the crib then proceeded to the kitchen to see what Erin was making. After a lunch of Caesar salad wraps they headed to bed for an afternoon sleep.

* * *

><p>"Hello" Erin said answering the phone on the second ring, she didn't recognise the number.<p>

"Erin? It's Josh, Lara's husband" The voice explained causing Erin to wonder why he would be calling her.

"Is everything alright?" She asked concerned that something had gone wrong.

"Fine, Lara's in labour and she just wanted me to let you know she won't be at yoga this afternoon"

"Okay, thanks. Let me know if there's anything I can do" Erin said hoping that things went smoothly and most importantly that the baby was healthy.

"Alright, bye" He said before hanging up. Erin was worried for Lara but knew there wasn't anything she could do to help. The team arrived back from their raid, all frustrated that the tip off had been wrong. Thankfully it was a busy day so work occupied her until mid afternoon. She wanted to ring and enquire about how things were going but at the same time didn't want to interfere. If Kelly hadn't called and volunteered to prepare dinner she would have skipped yoga. The last thing she wanted to do was to the class alone. As Erin was on her way out to her car the perfect solution to her problem walked past.

"Nadia" Erin said sounding sickly sweet.

"Yes?" The younger woman responded instantly cautious.

"Would you do me a favour?" Erin asked.

"Maybe, what is it?" Nadia replied being cautious not to make any commitment until she knew what exactly the favour involved.

"Come to my yoga class with me" She answered knowing straight away from Nadia's expression that it was unlikely.

"What's in it for me?" Nadia asked.

"I'll buy you cake afterwards. It'll be good practice for undercover work" Erin said hopeful cake was sufficient bribery.

"Alright, but you have to drive me home as well" Nadia agreed, she'd do anything for an excuse to have the afternoon off. Even if it meant attending a yoga class for pregnant women.

"Done" Erin agreed heading back upstairs to tell Voight she was borrowing Nadia for the afternoon. He didn't even ask why but figured it was either important or baby related. Erin dropped Nadia off on her way home then picked her up again after getting changed. Erin regretted inviting such a young and flexible person when Nadia was praised by the instructor after the very first pose. Nadia noticed how much it annoyed Erin but continued to show off, thoroughly enjoying being the best in the class. After the class Erin bought her cake, realising how much she'd been neglecting her friendship as they sat down to talk.

* * *

><p>When Erin still hadn't heard anything from Lara the next morning she started to worry. She discussed the situation with Kelly and he advised her not to call, Lara would be too busy bonding with her new baby to worry about making phone calls. Erin put it out of her mind and allowed herself to get caught up at work. She ended up staying later than she had in weeks, helping the team crack down on drugs at the college campus by sending them photos of students with previous drug offences. Erin arrived home to find Kelly intently reading the baby name book Lara had lent her.<p>

"Please tell me you haven't been reading that all day" Erin said knowing he had been in the same position on the couch when she had left for work.

"You're home late, busy day?" He asked flicking the page absent-mindedly.

"Kind of, dinner?" She asked noticing he was up to the 'R' section of the book.

"It's in the oven, should be ready in a few minutes" He replied putting down the book.

"Enough time for me to have a shower?" She questioned.

"Yeah" He said picking the book back up again. She stopped to give him a kiss before heading to the shower. While they ate dinner they discussed the names Kelly had noted down so far, Erin rejected most of them straight away, struggling to understand why on earth he would want to call a child Milo.

"Baby has been quiet today" She said as she straightened the sheets before getting into bed.

"Needs to rest or it won't grow" Kelly responded though the baby seemed lively enough when he placed his hand on her belly.

"It's growing just fine" Erin replied feeling as if the baby had doubled in size in the last month. The baby continued to move around something Kelly enjoyed much more than Erin did, possibly because his internal organs weren't under attack.

* * *

><p>"Erin, I have a baby!" Lara announced excitedly over the phone.<p>

"Congratulations" Erin replied, the excitement was contagious especially as it banished the concern Erin had been feeling for the last few days.

"Can you come visit? You have to see her, she's beautiful" Lara continued clearly infatuated with her baby.

"I'm sure she is! When?" Erin asked.

"I'll just get Josh to ask the nurse when visiting hours are" Lara responded before talking to Josh briefly. "How was yoga?" Lara asked while she waited for Josh to return.

"Not so bad, I missed you though" Erin answered, yoga with Lara was definitely more fun than yoga with Nadia.

"Visiting hours are from 2pm to 4pm" Lara informed though Erin had heard Josh report this information to his wife in the background.

"Okay, send me the details and I'll see you at two" Erin confirmed, she'd miss yoga but she didn't really mind any more.

"Can't wait for you to meet her, we called her Willow" Lara said proudly.

"That's beautiful..." Erin said before being cut off by a very loud cry, clearly Willow was awake.

"I've got to go, see you this afternoon" Lara said eager to tend to the crying infant. Lara had clearly forgotten to hang up in her haste so Erin ended the call. Erin got back to work, checking with Voight that it was okay for her to leave early as he passed her desk on his way to her office. She left half an hour early needing to get some sort of gift before visiting the hospital. She stopped at a massive florist and bought flowers, a helium balloon and a bright pink headband for baby Willow. Gifts in hand she navigated her way through the maze that was the hospital, relieved when she arrived at the maternity ward. The directions Erin had received had obviously been sent by Josh with half the directions being the opposite of what they could be, one of the right turns she was instructed to make would have led her straight into the theatre. After a brief moment of disorientation a helpful nurse guided her to the room. She knocked twice and entered happy to see Lara sitting up in bed, baby Willow in her arms. Erin did her best to gush over how adorable Willow was making sure to congratulate Josh as well as Lara. Josh left the two women alone while he dashed home to shower and eat. It gave them a great opportunity to talk.

Thoroughly traumatised Erin returned home. Lara had described in great detail every second of Willow's entrance into the world. The surprisingly violent tale involved forty-eight hours in labour followed by an emergency caesarean section. Erin was seriously questioning her ability to cope in a similar situation. Once the fear took hold she found it impossible to function properly, she barely managed to keep her dinner down and sleep was impossible. She dozed briefly only to wake in terror following a nightmare where she was in labour for a whole week. In order to calm down she cleaned, doing two loads of laundry and various other household tasks before Kelly arrived home for breakfast.

"Are you alright?" He asked as soon as he saw her.

"Yeah" She responded though it was obviously a lie.

"What happened?" He asked ignoring her answer.

"Nothing" She managed continuing to fold the clean washing.

"Tell me" He demanded.

"Lara told me about Willow's birth" Erin answered still mentally scarred by the thought.

"I'll call Voight, you aren't working today" Kelly said, he needed to talk with her further but first had to inform Voight and get some food into her.

"Alright" She agreed, now he knew something was seriously wrong, she would never normally agree to take a whole day off work. He forced her to eat breakfast then took her back to bed taking the time to pull the curtains over properly so the room was nice and dark.

"Now what's going on?" He asked looking down at her.

"I just don't think I can do it" She said fighting to keep the tears at bay.

"Of course you can" He assured wondering what Lara had said to cause Erin so much worry.

"I don't know, she was in labour for two whole days!" Erin blurted.

"I don't have any doubt that you could, but I'm sure you won't have to" He said running his fingers through her hair calmingly.

"You can't know that"

"Yes I can, everyone is different and the chances are pretty slim of the delivery being anything like Lara's" He said hoping that he wouldn't come to regret the statement.

"It still has to come out" Erin said feeling as if he didn't understand just how scary the process was, how could he when it wasn't his body involved.

"And it will, everything will be fine, I'll be there the whole time. We'll do it together" Kelly assured kissing the crease her forehead made when she frowned.

"Promise?" She asked feeling small and weak.

"I promise" He assured. "It's not something you have to worry about now anyway, just get some sleep" He said as she yawned.

"Okay" She whispered as snuggled against him.

**If imagining Nadia and pregnant Erin competing at yoga doesn't make you smile there is something wrong with you! For those of you who might have noticed the inconsistency in the days yoga is on I figured out a solution: It's a rotating schedule, one week its Tuesday and Thursday and the next Wednesday and Friday...Just in case you were wondering! Erin is now freaked out about having the baby, lucky she isn't due for another two months. She'll be fine as long as Kelly is there. Thank you for reading :D**


	28. Chapter 28

**I apologise for the delay in posting, we had a massive storm and lost power (and internet) for a few hours this afternoon...Luckily I had already done all the required cooking in preparation for my birthday cake! Now I just have to finish decorating it. It's a firetruck :D **

It took Erin a few days, and half a season of a TV show about midwives, to realise that her fears were somewhat irrational. Kelly had been completely right in saying that every delivery was different. That being said she did look into the classes being run at the hospital, they clashed with work and she dismissed the idea, at least for another month. Kelly was hesitant to go to work on Monday, he knew he needed to be there for her and made sure she knew it was alright to call him. Erin was pleased to get back to work though she had noticed the decrease in work Voight had been assigning her. She didn't complain instead making jobs for herself. Even with the added work of alphabetizing old case files and sorting through the endless data responsible for slowing their computers she still made it home by lunch each day. In the afternoons she slept, read books or trawled the internet constantly thinking of the baby.

"We need to have a baby free weekend" Kelly suggested as they lay in bed on Saturday morning.

"What do you mean?" Erin asked, she had almost forgotten how to think of anything but the infant.

"I mean we don't have long left without the baby so we should make the most of the time as just a couple. No talking about the baby, it's just two days" He explained. It made perfect sense but Erin didn't know if it would be possible not to talk about the baby, it had become her purpose.

"Alright, I'll try. It's easier for you, you aren't the one carrying it" She said.

"I know, but we'll try. Just you and me" He replied sealing it with a kiss.

"So what's your plan for the day then?" She asked with a smile.

"I didn't plan that far ahead" He admitted suddenly trying to come up with something they could do.

"You can figure it out while I have a shower" She said getting up and heading for the bathroom. He pulled out his phone and had a list of options ready for her. Knowing she wouldn't be long he got up and started making breakfast.

"What are we doing today?" She asked, slightly worried that she might have to change depending on the activity.

"Well there isn't much on but we could go to the Art Gallery or Museum, I don't know, it's up to you" He said.

"I'd love to do something outside but it's pretty cold so that isn't very sensible, Art Gallery or Museum sound fine"

"I did find some nice bush walking trails but we'll do that some other time" He said trying to avoid anything to do with the baby though it was at the forefront of his mind when thinking up activities.

"I don't actually have any interest in art, the Museum would be alright. Any short, gentle trails?" She asked, she wanted to get out but had a sneaking suspicion she wouldn't be up the trails he had found.

"There was one to a lookout, only half a mile" He suggested not sure he should be encouraging her inquiry.

"I'm willing to give it a go, we can always turn around" She said sounding sure of herself.

"Okay then" He agreed leaving her eating while he went and got dressed. He slipped the jewelery box he had been hiding amongst his underwear into the pocket of his pants. Erin navigated using the map on his phone while Kelly drove. It took just over an hour to get to the national park and another half hour to make sure they had everything they needed. Erin's biggest worry was leaving the public toilets far behind as they set of down the track. Walking slowly they enjoyed the conversation more than the scenery. They didn't see another person the whole way to the look out and were pleased to be truly alone. From the lookout they could see the entirety of the city and a large portion of the lake. It was amazing to see the cars, tiny as ants rushing this way and that, caught up in the unmemorable moments that made everyday life.

"This is so much better than staring at Art or old boots" She said recalling a trip to the museum where the exhibition had focused on footwear.

"It is" He answered though while she had been enjoying the view he had simply been enjoying watching her.

"Water bottle?" She asked turning to sit down. He fumbled around in the bag then handed her the water bottle.

"I love you" Kelly said taking a seat next to her.

"I love you too" Erin affirmed, she didn't mind hearing it but was slightly confused as to what had brought it on.

"I really want to spend the rest of my life with you" He said. She had noticed his hand in his pocket and suddenly became very nervous. She considered getting up and walking away.

"What are you doing?" She asked unable to mask the terror in her voice.

"I got you a present" He said handing her the box. She took a deep breath then opened it, hands shaking.

"I wasn't sure..." She admitted looking down at the necklace with relief, a proposal would certainly have ruined the moment. She felt stupid, he knew her better than to propose but she had still doubted him.

"Do you like it?" He asked hopefully, the necklace was simple, a gold chain with two hearts interlocked at the bottom to form an infinity symbol.

"It's beautiful, thank you" She said giving in to the strong urge to kiss him. As her heart rate returned to normal she took the necklace from the box and put it on. Then she kissed him again, an apology for doubting.

"I wasn't sure, took me ages to choose" Kelly said oblivious to Erin's concerns.

"It took me ages to choose you" She said immediately feeling the need to hit herself, what a pathetic romance movie thing to say. He couldn't help but laugh at the horrified face she pulled as she wondered how to recover from such an embarrassing statement. Running his fingers across her cheek he took the opportunity and kissed her. "Forget I ever said that?" She asked hopefully when he pulled back to look at her.

"I liked it" He teased.

"Time to head back?" She asked, if he wasn't going to forget it she didn't have much of a choice but to move on.

"Okay" Kelly agreed already pleased he declared it a baby free weekend.

* * *

><p>Lindsay and the rest of the intelligence unit were thrown in the deep end on a case so strange it would make a perfect television show. Uniformed officers had arrived at the scene of a car crash, nothing unusual about that, the drunk driver who had caused the accident was found in the drivers seat, dead. The strange part was that he hadn't been killed in the crash, he'd been shot in the head. No one had heard a gun go off and everyone had been preoccupied rendering first aid to the seriously injured passengers in the other car. It was a complete mystery and as a result was assigned to intelligence. Lindsay began by running background checks on everyone involved, two of the four passengers in the car owned guns, that was as good a place as any to start. The rest of the team went out to the scene, Halstead kept Lindsay in the loop with photographs of the two cars. Forensics and ballistics reports would take at least a day but in the meantime they had people to interview, especially the men who owned guns.<p>

"We're on our way back in, they weren't carrying their guns, no weapons in the car" Halstead informed over the phone.

"Okay, I'll see what else I can find" Lindsay replied knowing it would never be that easy.

"See you soon" Halstead said ending the call. Lindsay got back to work, if it wasn't one of the occupants then it could have been someone walking past. Of course the crash itself wasn't caught on CCTV but a camera positioned further up the street gave a good view of the people in the area at the time. None looked even vaguely suspicious but she didn't dismiss it as a possibility. The team ran out of possibilities pretty quickly and turned their attention to another case while waiting for more information to surface. Lindsay had decided to stay a little while longer than usual and was glad she did when her phone rang.

"Hello?" Lindsay answered.

"Hello, I'm from the lab just wanted to let you know that we found the gun that killed Smith" A young female said.

"Where?" Lindsay asked, her team had searched the area thoroughly.

"Under the seat" The lady confirmed.

"Is it registered to anyone?" Lindsay questioned, this could be all the information they needed to get the shooter.

"Ah...William Neil" She answered after a pause during which Lindsay could hear her typing rapidly.

"Sh*t, thank you" Lindsay responded hanging up the phone, within seconds she was standing in front of Voight explaining that the gun was registered to one of their own. William Neil was one of the uniformed officers who had responded to the crash.

"You sure?" Voight checked, he knew Neil and couldn't quite believe it was possible.

"Fairly, I'll get them to check again" Lindsay said, she hardly wanted to be right.

"What motive would he have?" Voight questioned

"I don't know" Lindsay responded wishing she had made the effort to say more than just 'Hello' to Neil.

"Keep this quiet, look into it and get back to me. This can't get out unless we're certain" Voight instructed.

"Sure" Lindsay agreed before returning to her desk to find out everything about Neil's past. She double checked the serial number on the gun, it definitely belonged to Neil. It didn't take half as long as she expected to find motive. When Neil was eight years old he had been walking to school with his big sister when she was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Today Smith had narrowly missed a girl after crashing into the other car. The situation was so similar it must have brought everything back and Neil did the only thing he could think of. Killing Smith ensured he wouldn't walk away the same way his sisters killer had. With this new information Lindsay felt dreadful for the young officer, his life had already been ruined when his sister was killed, this only made it worse. Lindsay told Voight everything she knew before heading home for the afternoon, she'd done enough to help and felt the need for a sleep.

Erin woke to find Kelly had cooked dinner, she talked to him about the case and they both agreed that it was import to leave the past behind. That night Erin slept uneasily, it was the first case she had truly contributed to in weeks yet she felt terrible that Neil would suffer the consequences of doing something that could be seen as morally 'right'.

* * *

><p>Nadia refused to go to yoga again, the cake had been good but she didn't want to miss anymore work. Erin didn't push her, in truth she didn't mind not going to the class. Instead she recreated what she remembered in her bedroom at home before a sleep. She had just started to prepare dinner when her phone rang, she had expected it to be Kelly saying he was going to be home late. It was Leah asking if there was any chance Erin could babysit Lucas, he was too sick to go to daycare but she couldn't miss a day of work. He wasn't contagious, he'd had his vaccinations the day before so he was grizzly and had a temperature. Erin agreed instantly though as soon as she hung up she realised she had no idea how to look after a normal baby, let alone a sick one. She messaged Kelly, he seemed to think she was capable.<p>

Erin arrived at Leah's apartment right on time and listened intently to the young mothers instructions. Confident that she could cope she waved goodbye to Leah then went to check on Lucas, he was sleeping heavily so she left him be. It didn't take long for things to go from calm and peaceful to absolutely chaotic. Lucas had woken up wailing and nothing Erin did seemed to stop him. All she could do was hold him, eventually he calmed himself. Erin heated and fed him a bottle which got him back to sleep, he stirred every time she tried to put him down so she found herself trapped with him in her arms. It severely limited her ability to do anything so she found herself engrossed in a daytime talk show. Halstead had been messaging her on and off to keep her up to date with work. Her phone went off during a silent moment of the show waking Lucas. Thankfully he didn't start crying again, happy just to play with her fingers. The highlight of the day occurred when her baby started kicking and Lucas pressed his hand to her belly instantly calming it. It wasn't until Leah arrived home a few hours later that Erin realised she had spent almost the entire day on the sofa. Leah thanked her saying that she must have done a wonderful job, this was emphasized when Lucas started crying the moment he left Erin's arms. Erin arrived home to find dinner ready. Kelly was happy to hear about her day, every tiny detail in fact.

* * *

><p>Erin's last day of work started just like any other, except maybe that she was exhausted before she even arrived. The baby had been unusually active overnight preventing all attempts at a good nights sleep. The unit got to work and Erin was again responsible for sending photos of potential suspects. She didn't realise at the time but there were two men in the system with the same name and date of birth, she sent the photo of the wrong one. Voight and the team arrived back two hours later with a man they had dragged out of a conference, in front of all his confused colleagues. It took twenty minutes in the interrogation room to establish that he was in fact the wrong person entirely. Erin was still oblivious of her mistake and was therefore quite confused when Voight called her into his office using the tone she associated with anger.<p>

"Are you alright?" was the first question he asked, she didn't look great and there had to be some form of explanation for her mistake.

"Fine, why?" She asked anxiously.

"You sent us the photo of the wrong John Bridges" Voight said, he could tell from her reaction that she had no idea of the error.

"What do you mean? The birth dates matched" Erin asked, unconvinced.

"There are two of them, exact same age, exact same name but very different people" Voight clarified.

"Sorry" She said after taking a moment to think, she should have been more careful.

"Erin, I think it's time we talk about you taking leave" He suggested gently.

"It won't happen again" She assured.

"No it won't, you'll be at home resting and getting ready for the baby" He said more firmly.

"Hank" She pleaded though she knew it was a lost cause. He had made up his mind and no amount of emotional blackmail would fix things.

"Go home" He instructed, it was a hard decision to make. Even working solely from behind the desk she was still one hell of a detective the kind of person the team needed more of, not less.

"Fine" She agreed, she was to tired to argue, unfortunately that only served to prove his point. Collecting her things from her desk on the way out she didn't stop to say a proper good bye to anyone, she knew she'd be seeing them around.

* * *

><p>Erin didn't know what to do with all the spare time on her hands. She slept until she honestly couldn't anymore then cleaned and washed everything in the apartment. Kelly didn't even realise how much of a problem it was until he looked for a shirt one night.<p>

"Erin, where's my Cubs shirt?" He asked looking in the bathroom where he had left it.

"Have you looked on your shelf?" She called back.

"No, I wore it yesterday, it was in the bathroom" He said starting to look in ridiculous places, there was no way it could be in the cupboard under the basin.

"It's on your shelf" She replied. Giving up in the bathroom he headed for his shelf to find an alternative, there on the top of the pile sat the shirt. Washed, dried and folded.

"When did you wash this?" Kelly asked picking it up.

"Today" Erin answered more focused on yoga than his clothing issue.

"But you did washing yesterday" He said.

"And today" She confirmed.

"Have you been doing washing everyday?" He asked, suddenly concerned.

"I don't really have anything to do other than clean" She admitted.

"Erin" He said with a sigh "Read a book, go to a movie, meet up with Lara, there are plenty of things to do"

"I haven't seen Lara in weeks, she's too busy with Willow" Erin explained.

"I'll talk to Cindy, I'm sure she'll have plenty of ideas of things to do" He said feeling sorry for her. Erin was used to fast paced, adrenaline filled work, more recently it had been desk work but was just as thrilling. Now he expected her to stay home all day, it would be enough to drive him made but he'd been too caught up with work to notice.

"Okay" She agreed, it couldn't hurt to spend some time doing something slightly more productive than washing.

* * *

><p>Cindy taught Erin to crochet. She started out making a beanie for the baby then progressed to a jacket and pants set. It was a boring, repetitive task but it took up a fair bit of time. During her days of crocheting she became quite familiar with daytime television scheduling. After a week straight of doing nothing during the day but working on squares for a blanket she decided she was lonely. A visit to the firehouse was in order, she packed away her work and headed to the car. She had needed to adjust the seat to fit her ever expanding belly. Her doctors had all been quite pleased with the baby's growth and were especially glad to hear that she had finally stopped working.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Kelly asked as she arrived.

"Nice to see you too" She replied wondering why he didn't want her there. He gave her a look that made it pretty clear he hadn't meant it that way.

"Sorry, it's lovely to see you" He said giving her an awkward sideways hug and a kiss on the head.

"Better, I was lonely, can I hang out here?" She asked though it didn't matter what he said.

"Of course" He agreed leading her through to the couch where she sat down showing him the squares she had made so far. He made sure to look and sound interested as she explained the different stitches and colour patterns.

"I should be done by the time the baby's born" Erin said triumphantly. Kelly was slightly pleased when a call came in, it was very odd to have her at the firehouse. At first he wasn't so keen on her being there, he had to be more careful about what he said to his squad. By the end of the week he had changed his mind. It was nice to have her around, even if it was only to sleep in his bed or watch TV with them. It meant they got to spend a lot more time together and Erin got to know everyone much better.

* * *

><p>Erin became almost a permanent feature at the house. No one seemed to mind her presence and it was much better than sitting at home alone all day. For the first time Erin hesitated when Kelly got up and started getting ready for work that day. She hadn't slept very well and didn't really feel up to twenty-four hours surrounded by lots of people.<p>

"You coming?" He asked noticing that she still hadn't moved.

"Yeah" She answered getting up, better to be with too many people than alone. As she bent down to pull off her bed socks a sharp pain made her stop momentarily, it was gone as soon as it had started. She added back pain to the list of things that were bound to go wrong that day, her blanket making was behind schedule and no doubt Cruz would be cooking another inedible meal. Erin got ready quickly and met Kelly at the door. He wouldn't let her out until she promised to eat breakfast at the firehouse. The day proceeded just as every other day had for the past fortnight, she ate, slept, did some crochet then ate and slept some more.

"You alright?" Dawson asked catching Erin wincing as she took a seat on the couch.

"Fine" Erin assured.

"Are you sure?" Dawson checked knowing something had caused Erin discomfort.

"Yeah, it's just a bit of a sore back, nothing really" Erin answered wondering what she had done to cause the pain, she hadn't slept in an odd position or lifted anything.

"What sort of sore back?" Dawson questioned, clearly thinking there was more to the pain.

"Lower back, it just hurts when I sit or move in a certain way" Erin answered, she hadn't thought anything of the pain but was slightly concerned that Dawson did.

"So it's always when you move, not random?" Dawson asked, she could tell from Erin's expression that the pain hadn't always coincided with a movement.

"Why does it matter?" Erin asked, the pain really wasn't that bad.

"Some women describe contractions as back pain, just random twinges increasingly frequently" Dawson explained.

"I'm not due for another six weeks" Erin said as if that meant Dawson couldn't possibly be right.

"I'm sorry I said anything, I'm sure everything is fine" Dawson said realising that having a baby was stressful enough without someone saying back pain could be contractions.

"Don't worry" Erin said, though she certainly was. The more she thought about it the more the pain was consistent with everything she knew about contractions, it had started further apart becoming closer and closer together as time progressed. She would have called her midwife to check but Kelly came in and distracted her, the last thing she wanted to do was get him all worked up over a false alarm. It really could be just back pain. Squad 3 were called to a highrise fire leaving Erin with the truck team. Mouch was again happy to share his couch, Herrmann let her know Cindy had been asking after her and Cruz let her taste test his blueberry and cheese muffins. The muffins were pretty bad but she was hungry enough it didn't matter. Not ten minutes later truck 81 was called to assist at the fire, it was much worse than first reported.

"Matt, can I stay behind?" Dawson asked discretely.

"What for?" He demanded.

"I want to keep an eye on Erin" She replied hopefully.

"Can't Brett or Mills do it?" He asked knowing they were wasting valuable time debating the issue.

"They aren't back from their last call yet" Dawson explained.

"Fine" He agreed rushing out to catch up with the rest of the team.

Erin wasn't sure what exactly had happened but instead of leaving with everyone else Dawson joined her on the couch. The ex-paramedic kept an unusually close eye on her and Erin was quite sure that when she got up to go to the bathroom Dawson would follow. Thankfully she didn't. Erin was returning from the bathroom when she stopped, sharp pain in her back was followed by the strange sensation of pressure being released. "Dawson?" She called hoping she wasn't too far away to be heard.

"What is it?" Dawson asked though she needn't, it was evident Erin's waters had broken. "Stay calm, everything is fine" Dawson confirmed her inner paramedic kicking in, she led Erin back through the firehouse and into her car.

"I can't have the baby yet" Erin said struggling to process that things were already in motion.

"Plenty of baby's are born this early and are perfectly fine" Dawson assured.

To Be Continued...

**I think that's as good a place as any to leave things...This chapter is pretty long because I kept thinking of things I needed to add before the baby is born! I confess I feel a little mean about the look out scene but I really don't see Erin as the kind of person who would need a piece of paper or rings to recognize their relationship. Almost forgot but I figure it is very important that I add now that I haven't got any children, any and all descriptions are purely educated speculations... I really have no idea how to write the delivery scene but I'll figure it out :D Thanks for reading!**


	29. Chapter 29

Dawson walked Erin to the maternity ward where a nice young midwife saw them immediately. Erin had calmed herself somewhat but started to worry again when the midwife requested a doctors opinion. While they waited for the doctor they were escorted into a room where Erin was asked to fill out admission papers.

"Erin, how are you today?" The doctor asked looking at his notes for her name.

"Fine, I hope, I'm not really sure what's happening" Erin answered honestly.

"And you're thirty-four weeks?" He asked.

"Yes" She confirmed, if the baby was born today it would be 5 weeks and 6 days early. She didn't really know what that meant as far as its chances of being healthy.

"Okay, we'll get a fetal heart rate monitor going and see how baby is doing" He said gesturing for the midwife to do it. The baby's heart rate was established as just below the expected rate and the doctor left giving the midwife specific instructions.

"I'm going to be back in a little while to check again, are you alright here?" The midwife asked, Erin appreciated the level of genuine concern in her voice.

"Yes, thank you" Erin answered still struggling to come to terms with how quickly things had unfolded.

"I'm going to go call Boden, he'll get Severide here pretty quickly" Dawson said, she had played the silent observer since their arrival at the hospital.

"No, I don't want to worry him, things aren't moving very quickly" Erin said fighting not to let Dawson see she was having another contraction. They were ten to twenty minutes apart leaving plenty of time for Kelly to finish at the fire and arrive safely.

"Are you sure?" Dawson asked knowing that these things were highly unpredictable, it could be minutes or hours before anything happened, there was no way of knowing.

"I don't want him to worry" She reiterated, she knew how awful it felt to rush to hospital and she didn't want him to be unnecessarily concerned.

"Okay" Dawson agreed before taking a moment to inspect the equipment in the room, if this was just a standard room she couldn't wait to see the gear they had in the actual delivery room. It appeared they were prepared for any and every eventuality. Erin used the silence to contemplate the situation, she didn't want to have the baby today, or this week, or even this month. She wanted more time to prepare herself. She knew she was only causing herself unnecessary stress. It wasn't something she could control, the baby would arrive on its own terms.

"How's it going?" The midwife asked upon her return.

"Good" Erin said, at least if she kept a positive attitude outwardly she could pretend to be alright.

"We'll just see what baby's up to" The midwife said using the heart rate monitor. Erin knew something was wrong as soon as she heard the baby's heartbeat, it was considerably slower than it had been only minutes earlier. The midwife didn't hesitate to press the emergency help button and time sped again as she was wheeled straight to the delivery room. Dawson stayed at Erin's side the entire time.

"We're going to give you an injection to speed things up a bit, we need the baby out now" An older midwife said, Erin nodded dumbly seriously regretting not calling Kelly.

"I'll call him" Dawson said once the rush of hospital staff subsided slightly.

"Thank you" Erin managed.

"Erin you need to tell us when you're having contractions" The midwife in charge said after a few minutes of waiting for the injection to kick in.

"Sorry" Erin apologised, she had been trying to focus on breathing. The contractions were increasingly intense and much more frequent as well.

"He's on his way" Dawson confirmed, hoping that Kelly would arrive before the baby. Erin couldn't have cared less about the midwives, doctors and nurses poking and prodding her. All she focused on was taking one breath after another. She signalled the midwife with her hand during each contraction but was otherwise completely self absorbed, determined to get the baby out as quickly as possible. It wasn't long before the midwife broke her trance and instructed her to push with the next contraction. It took a few attempts to perfect but soon enough things were progressing rapidly. If Kelly didn't arrive soon he was going to miss it, she couldn't stop though, the baby stood the best chance once born. Dawson took Kelly's place without hesitation, completely in her element, and did her best to support Erin, sacrificing her hand.

"Where is he?" Erin questioned in the lull between contractions.

"I don't know" Dawson answered.

"He promised" Erin said before turning her effort again to the task at hand.

"He should be here" Dawson replied.

"I need him" Erin said channelling her frustration to get the baby moving.

"One more like that" The midwife demanded. Erin obliged and just as the baby was finally born the door swung open. Erin realised that the baby had already inherited it's fathers ability to make an entrance. Kelly took of his jacket and helmet handing them to Dawson as he wiped soot from his face.

"I'm so sorry" He said keeping his eyes fixed firmly on Erin. She nodded before breaking eye contact to see what was happening with the baby. It was tiny, bright pink, and silent. The midwife cut the umbilical cord and handed the limp infant to a doctor. The doctor took it almost roughly and rushed it into the huddle of other medical practitioners. They worked on it as minutes dragged on, Erin had never been more conscious of every single second passing. After what felt like an eternity the baby let out a tiny cry, gaining confidence in it's new-found ability it did it again getting louder. Kelly moved to see get a better view of the baby, it was now crying and moving. The midwife wrapped it carefully before handing it over to him.

"It's a girl" The midwife informed, one of the joys of her job was the look of pure amazement in the eyes of new parents. Kelly took a moment to take in every tiny detail of his daughters face, blue eyes with the finest eyelashes, a tiny nose, small, soft cheeks and a mouth with bright red lips. She was absolutely perfect. He was filled with a feeling he could only describe as love followed by a surge of gratitude. Walking slowly, after all the most precious thing in the world was in his arms, he made his way to Erin who waited patiently enjoying the calm of watching.

"She's perfect" He said carefully handing the baby to her mother.

"She really is" Erin said after a moment.

"You're amazing" Kelly replied taking a moment to appreciate Erin's efforts.

"I made her" Erin announced still finding it hard to fathom, she had made a whole human in the same amount of time it took to bust an international drug ring.

"You did" He agreed leaning across to kiss the perfect mother of his perfect child. They remained completely transfixed on their baby, she was tiny and wrinkly but at the same time the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.

"I just need to check her" The paediatrician said looking down at the baby.

"Sure" Erin said holding the baby out so that the doctor could assess her.

"We've given her an injection to help her lungs mature. She seems to be doing pretty well so I'll let you keep her for now" The paediatrician said with a smile. "Just keep an eye on this, if it drops below ninety tell the nurse" She added indicating the pulse oximeter she had attached to the baby's foot.

"Okay, thank you" Erin replied knowing the doctor could just as easily have demanded the baby be taken away and monitored more closely. They kept her tiny foot poking out from the blanket so they could keep a close eye on her oxygen levels. It wasn't until they left the delivery room that Erin realised she'd completely forgotten Dawson. "Dawson, come have a look" Erin said once they were settled in the room.

"No, I should go" Dawson responded quickly feeling like she was intruding.

"Don't be silly" Kelly replied with a look Dawson knew well, determination, she didn't fight it instead moving closer to admire the baby.

"Thank you" Erin said knowing Dawson didn't have to have stayed with her. Dawson shrugged of the gratitude instead turning attention back to the baby.

"You have some visitors" the nurse said upon entering the room.

"Is Hank here?" Erin asked before realising the nurse had no way of distinguishing the visitors apart.

"I'll go see" Kelly said leaving the room to check. He arrived back with Hank a few minutes later.

"Good job kid" Hank said after a quick glance at the baby.

"Everyone's out there, anyone in particular you want to see?" Kelly asked after giving Erin and her father figure a few moments alone.

"All of them" Erin announced, she wanted everyone to see her perfect daughter. Her statement lost momentum when she saw the look on Hank's face. "What?" She asked knowing she was being left out of the loop.

"Did you call your mum?" Hank asked.

"No, why would I do that?" Erin replied.

"Well I don't know how she found out but she's here, and she wants to see you" He informed her.

"Take her" Erin said handing the baby to Severide she promptly got up and headed for the door.

"Erin, don't" Hank said stepping between her and the door.

"I just want to talk to her" She said trying to sidestep around him.

"I'll tell her to leave" He offered shifting to block her.

"Move" Erin insisted. Hank stepped aside letting her out into the hallway, she followed the familiar voices and found the waiting room. Jay spotted her and gave her a confused look. As soon as her mother saw her she pounced.

"Oh darling, congratulations!" She said throwing herself at Erin for a hug, Erin simply extended her arm deflecting the advance entirely.

"We need to talk" Erin said moving out of the waiting room away from the intrigued stares of her visitors.

"Erin" Her mother said pleadingly.

"I don't know why you're here. I don't need you in my life and I don't want you you in my life, please go" Erin told the woman who had let her down too many times to deserve a chance.

"Erin, I'm your family" Her mother replied resolutely.

"All of those people in there are my family" Erin said gesturing to the combination of police and firemen in the waiting room. "You aren't" Erin finished before returning to her room. Hank stood at the door, he'd been keeping a close eye on her.

"Sorted?" He asked as she passed him.

"Yes" She said getting back into the bed. Kelly handed her the baby still slightly confused as to what had just happened. As soon as her mother had left Erin invited everyone into her room. Baby Severide was passed around meeting plenty of 'aunts' and 'uncles'. The nurse was less than pleased with the mass of people but didn't bother to comment.

"So when are you starting work again?" Jay joked approaching Erin after waiting his turn, holding the baby and passing her on.

"I have to bust out of here first" Erin replied, he didn't think for a moment that she was being serious.

"End of the week then?" He pressed.

"Of course" She agreed.

"Erin, how much does she weigh?" Herrmann interrupted.

"Four pound six" Erin answered before turning to see that Jay had moved off to talk with Antonio. Erin looked around the room, things had not gone at all to plan but she couldn't help but think this was better. "Make your own" She teased watching Dawson show Casey the baby.

"Here you go" Dawson said handing Baby Severide back to her mother. After a brief chat Erin had an announcement to make.

"First I'd like to thank you all for coming" Erin started "I would also like to invite you all to Molly's on Friday night to celebrate Baby Severide's arrival" There was a soft cheer, they had already been told to keep quiet by a grumpy old midwife. They started to leave, slowly at first then in a great rush. For the first time it was just Kelly, Erin and the baby in the room.

"We have to come up with a name" He said looking down at his daughter.

"You don't like Baby Severide?" She asked with a laugh.

"I love baby Severide but she needs a name" He said loving the way her tiny hand held the tip of his finger.

"I've already worked it out" Erin said triumphantly.

"Really what?" He asked eagerly.

"You'll find out on Friday night" She replied loving the way his forehead creased as he frowned.

**Hope you liked it and thank you for continuing to read and review :D I'm still not a doctor so it's all nonsense, beautiful Linseride nonsense! The best birthday presents you can give me are reviews :D **


	30. Chapter 30

Erin and Kelly spent hours silently watching their tiny daughter sleep, the nurse tried to persuade them to let her sleep in the nursery overnight but Erin wasn't letting her baby out of her sight. Kelly didn't bother to ask about the name, he knew she would tell him when she was ready, he just had to be patient and trusting. Until Erin decided to share the baby continued to be known as Baby Severide. Erin did some amazing negotiating with the doctor and managed to secure their discharge for the morning. It had been a big day but she struggled to sleep. First thing in the morning Kelly left the hospital with a comprehensive list of things to bring back. Erin enjoyed the alone time with the baby but didn't mind the midwife arriving to teacher her the basics of baby care, feeding, bathing and changing. All of which Erin was determined to master. Kelly arrived back in time to help with the baby's first bath then helped dress her in the onesie Shay had left him, it was a little too big but it was important to Kelly. He then watched Baby Severide closely while Erin took a shower and got dressed. They spoke with the doctor briefly but were then finally free to go home. Kelly took a great amount of pride in thoroughly checking the car seat, when he was satisfied that it was structurally sound he strapped in his daughter. Erin carried her bag while Kelly took their precious cargo. She had strictly forbidden taking Baby Severide in his car, hers had much better safety features, and was glad to see that Kelly complied.

"Do you want to sit in the back with her?" He asked clipping the car seat into the bracket.

"No" Erin answered.

"Are you sure?" Kelly asked surprised that she didn't mind leaving the baby out of arms reach.

"Certain, she's asleep anyway" She justified, in truth she wanted to argue that she should be allowed to drive but at the same time didn't want to push her luck.

"Okay" He agreed being gentlemanly and opening her door for her.

"I didn't expect to be doing this for another month" She commented as he began to drive, well below the speed limit much to the annoyance of other motorists.

"Upside is she's healthy and you didn't have to get any bigger" He replied.

"Very true" She acknowledged.

"We really should have moved somewhere with an elevator" He commented as they made their way up the stairs. Erin was fine with the stairs and thought it was lovely that Kelly was being so caring. By the time they'd settled in and had lunch exhaustion was catching up with them both. They lay in bed watching the baby sleep for a little while longer, it didn't take Erin long to drift off. Erin woke a few hours later to see Kelly sleeping, the baby snuggled up on his chest. He had one hand on her back, holding her close and protecting her from the rest of the world. Erin managed to find her phone and take a quick photo before Baby Severide started to wake up. Them moment Erin reached over to pick up the baby Kelly woke up.

"Sorry" Erin whispered.

"That's okay" He replied with a yawn. Erin attempted to feed the baby while Kelly took the chance to wake up properly.

"What do we do now?" Erin asked once Baby Severide was asleep again.

"I don't know, I expected her to be more demanding" He said wondering if they were doing something wrong, she hadn't cried all day.

"Me too, we could watch a movie" She suggested. Kelly agreed and they moved to the lounge room, Kelly happy to win possession of the baby. Erin was bored so she decided to sort through the drawer of newborn clothes and locate the smallest ones for immediate use. The movie ended, they ate dinner and got ready for bed. Erin had read four different web pages and a book on safe sleeping so she was sure to tuck Baby Severide low and tight in the crib.

* * *

><p>The next few days followed the same restful pattern, on the second day at home Kelly decided he'd head out and get some fresh fruit and vegetables. Erin seized the opportunity and located the business card she'd kept especially and ordered a personalised banner for above the crib. It arrived a day later and Erin put it up while Kelly was in the shower.<p>

"Really?" He asked looking at the four letters on the wall.

"Yes" Erin answered "If it's okay with you."

"It's perfect" He agreed making his way over to kiss both his ladies.

"You're sure? Once we tell everyone at Molly's there's no going back" She double checked.

"I'm certain, thank you" Kelly replied.

"Now you have to decide on god parents" Erin said, it was only fair to divide the tasks.

"Alright" He said willing to accept the challenge.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Molly's early to ensure everything was going according to plan. Dawson had gone to the effort of making a 'Welcome to the World' banner with fluorescent pink paint that hung proudly on the wall. There were other pink decorations as well as a menu of pink beverages.<p>

"This looks awesome" Erin commented thankful that Dawson had gone to the effort.

"I've been telling Otis and Herrmann that the place needs more pink for a while" Dawson replied. The bar was closed to the public for the night so she'd rearranged to make the front section kid friendly.

"Absolutely, you should keep it like this" Erin agreed though she'd never been particularly fond of pink.

"I would love to" Dawson agreed placing a colouring book on the table along with a glass of pencils.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Erin asked feeling useless just standing around.

"No, I think it's all done" Dawson answered turning to admire her work.

"I might go see what's taking so long" Erin said, Kelly had headed to the back of the establishment to get the baby dressed in her party outfit.

"It's suspiciously quiet" Dawson realised watching the detective go and investigate. Once Erin had helped him get the pants on the right way around she took the baby.

"They'll be here any second" She informed watching him stuff things into the bag randomly, he wasn't the one who'd have to search through it later to find something.

"It's quite exciting" He agreed following her back to the front just in time to greet the Herrmann's. The whole family arrived in a crowd and Cindy settled the kids amongst colouring books and toys before checking out the baby.

"She's so tiny, absolutely perfect though" Cindy said as Erin handed her the baby.

"Thank you for all your help so far" Erin remembered to say knowing that without Cindy and crocheting she would have gone mad when she'd finished working.

"No need to thank me, this is enough of a reward. I get to hold her while she'd sleeping but I don't have to feed or change her, or get up in the middle of the night when she cries" Cindy revealed with a knowing smile.

"True" Erin replied, the novelty of those tasks hadn't worn of yet. It wasn't long before everyone started to arrive. The few people who hadn't made it to the hospital were introduced to the baby. An atmosphere of celebration filled the room, Erin enjoyed the attention just as much as Kelly did. Soon enough the kids were getting rowdy and it was time for announcements before parents made a quick exit.

"So it might have taken a few days but we have finally come up with a fitting name for our daughter" Kelly said waiting for Erin to take over.

"Her name is Shay Camille Severide" Erin announced, it took a moment but then there was a cheer and a toast to Shay. Hank was sure to give Erin a tight hug knowing she didn't have to honour his late wife. Next attention turned to who would be named god parents, Kelly hadn't discussed his decision with Erin but hoped she would agree.

"Well this was left down to me, and it's not the sort of decision that can be made lightly. Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who's helped even a tiny bit over the last few months. Okay, so as far as the role of godmother is concerned I would like to ask Dawson. She was there when I couldn't be and I owe her big time. We were lucky enough to have Shay as a mutual friend, she's not here but I'm sure she'd volunteer you to take her place" He said waiting to see Erin's reaction, a nod of approval. Gabriela was quick to accept the role and made a quick speech in response. Now he just had to pull off the second half. "Jay, you keep an eye on Erin for me when she's at work. I'd love it if you would do the same for Shay" He said simply. Erin was slightly surprised but recovered well.

"Really?" Jay asked not even realising he had been in the running for the job.

"Sure" Kelly answered.

"Okay" Jay agreed after a conversation of looks with Erin. Jay wasn't the type to make a speech so he simply raised his glass for baby Shay.

"What do you think?" Kelly asked Erin as the celebration continued.

"I think you chose well" She answered. "I'm going to take Shay home now but you can stay and have fun"

"What's more fun than spending time with my family" He asked in response.

"You have to stay, the party's for us, it would be rude for us all to leave. It won't hurt you to have a beer with your friends" Erin said though he got the feeling he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Okay then, I'll see you soon" He said giving her a kiss. Erin drove home, fed Shay and put her to bed. Kelly arrived home quite late and tried his best to sneak into the bedroom. Erin woke as he slid into bed pulling her close.

"Did you have fun?" She asked.

"Yeah" He answered. They lay in silence for a while both thinking about the events of the last week as well as the possibilities the future held. "I love you" Kelly whispered "forever."

"Forever" She agreed before allowing herself to sleep.

**So that is the final chapter of this fic! It has certainly been an adventure. I've enjoyed every moment and every single review, thank you for your kind words and criticisms, they've made me a better writer. The story will continue shortly in a fic titled 'Baby Severide' - keep a look out for it :D I have already planned a little but would love some suggestions if there is a particular moment you would like to see. I hope you like the name I chose for the baby, I also hope it explains the need for me to follow the show in killing Shay. Leave me a review and let me know what you think. I look forward to seeing you around in the near future. Thank you again! **


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